There is a habit among some to perpetuate what may quite likely be a geological fallacy by referring to Europe as the Old Continent.
A study of history and a cursory glance at contemporary headlines will show that Europe is a place that for generations has been wracked by war, conflict and economic decisions that were not always in its own best interests. It is the continent where the Holocaust took place, that spawned the immorality of colonialism and was party to a global slave trade, and when it concluded peace treaties, laid within them the roots of further conflict or at best, left serious issues unresolved for future generations to solve. If the continent is making strides today towards a new unity and a new identity, these must be seen in the context of the egregious errors of its ways in the past, and the problems of today which continue to elude consensus and viable solutions.
It may be that the European Union will, in time, prove the salvation of the continent. A shared set of rules - and, perhaps, values - and the goal of building a globally significant economic and political bloc offer some hope for a better Europe in the future.
In recommending the admission of Bulgaria and Romania into the EU as of January 1 2007, the European Commission has taken the correct step towards the future of this bloc. The move is potentially beneficial both for the current members of the EU and the union as a whole, and for the people of Bulgaria and of Romania and for those who are neither Bulgarian nor Romanian but who live, work and do business here. The EC has made it clear that the two newcomers are being admitted even though the situations in both countries are not perfect, and the outstanding issues are no trivial matters, but are very serious indeed. For the sake of all the parties involved, celebrations of the historic moments of admission should be kept to a respectable minimum, because serious work remains to be done. The EC report unveiled on September 26 was well-crafted both to facilitate the admission of the two countries, because it would have been a mistake to delay their accession, while addressing to the satisfaction of most reasonable people within the EU those matters requiring serious attention, and making it clear that the EU is not now, and nor will it be in the future, a club that may easily be gate-crashed.
Senior figures within the EU have been at pains to give their congratulations to the political leaders and to the ordinary people of both countries for the efforts made that have brought Bulgaria and Romania to the threshold of EU membership. These congratulations are justified, because it would be churlish not to marvel at how far the two countries have come from the days of the warped economies and political systems that prevailed under communism.
Yet only the briefest glance may be afforded of the past. Inasmuch as the two countries have come a long way, there is a long way yet to go. Further, from the first day of next year, the context of the EU and Bulgaria and Romania will change. Not only will these two countries be required to apply EU rules properly, but all within the country - individuals, businesses and government bodies alike - will live in a new context, that of the rights and obligations involved in living in an EU member state.
There is a further issue. Bulgarians and Romanians, and all those living and working in this country, must now catch up with and become involved in the debate about the future of the EU. The EU, too, is made up of countries which have their own individual strengths, flaws and shortcomings. The debate must be about how all of these are approached, for the sake of building a new reality in what could truly become a new, and better, Europe.
