As
I started writing this essay, I had a hard time imagining
concretely the European Union (EU). Yet, as if by chance,
during my trip back from France, we were forced to make
a stop in Budapest. It led me to rethink entirely what
the EU meant to me, how it could influence me everyday
and why feeling European, being a part of this Union,
was essential to my entry in the adult world. I felt quite
lost in the Hungarian ambiance. Consequently, I was able
to realize how different my family was from Hungarians
and how contrasted our values and our visions of the world
were, in spite of the fact that we are all European. The
European Union regroups twenty-seven nations together
but this grouping does not imply a standardization of
its members; inequalities subsist. If the EU is not a
union that homogenized the countries, then what are the
real advantages for the population behind this association
besides the economic and the political benefits? To help
me answer this question, I would like to compare the European
Union to the subway in New York. And you may ask ―
Why New York? Further than being somewhere I can identify
to, the Melting Pot’s subway feels completely different
than the Parisian or any other kind of subway. Take the
6 from uptown to all the way downtown. Here is who you
will observe getting in and out: uptown, a mix between
African Americans and Hispanics; midtown, a blend of all
the different kinds of New Yorkers; around Rockefeller
Center and Grand Central, a majority of businessmen; finally,
downtown, a majority of Asians, artists and tourists.
All of this to show, that we find on the New York subway
a diversity similar to the EU’s. How can all of
these different cultures and nations, cohabit in such
a small space? Well, that’s New York’s magic
and it will soon become EU’s as well. The EU is
an extended version of New York’s atmosphere; it
is indeed an ambiance that cannot be felt locally but
at an international level. Thus, we are reflecting on
New York’s subway as a whole. By not focusing on
national aspects, we are in fact focusing on individual
freedom. Furthermore, as a proof of this atmosphere’s
extension, we have observed that more and more persons
living in the EU consider themselves as Europeans first
before of their own nationality. As each country has its
own particularities, the EU bestows us an easier way to
share cultures. It promotes flows of individuals and interactions
between them: we do not share the same language but the
same ideals, not the same local history but one unique
feeling of unity through freer borders (Schengen space)
and a common currency (Euro). The EU is the union of different
nations according to, yes certainly their political views
and economic ambitions, but most importantly their common
social interest, their will to foster and share a nascent
culture.
