What is Europe? Where are its Boundaries?

What is Europe? Where are its Boundaries?

Europe is a geographical term apart of Earth’s continent in the northeastern quadrant.  Throughout history there have been a variety of ways to describe Europe and explain where its boundaries are.  Through politics, culture, and geographical locations Europes identity has changed over the years.  Europe’s identity is very different than Asia’s.  My case study nation is Greece and interestingly enough the ancient Greeks wanted to differentiate themselves from their neighbors, the Persians.  Taken from an ancient Greek myth the term Europa was derived to gain the name Europe for the continent (Glencross, 14).  This idea is very important because it is used to show distinctness and separateness from Asia.  

The EU contains twenty eight nation states currently and there certainly are other countries in Europe that are not apart of the European Union.  For example there is the Council of Europe which includes forty seven countries.  Europe has clear boundaries to the west from the Atlantic Ocean, to the south with the Mediterranean Ocean, and to the North with the Arctic Ocean. In order to define Europe with specific geographical boundaries is difficult.  For example The Caucus mountains and the Urals in Russia create controversy because it will not include Turkey and it will divide Russia.   Their boundary to the east, however, causes confusion leaving the question of which countries are allowed to be apart of the European Union.  Countries like Russia and Turkey who both have territory in Asia and Europe will remain unclear whether or not they are allowed to be apart of the European Union.  History has shown interesting aspects of what Europe is.  The Mediterranean sea was a space shared by North Africa and the Levant culturally and economically.  During the Roman Empire they called this body of water mare nostrum meaning “our sea” (Glencross, 15).  This resulted in Morocco not being able to join the European Economic Community in 1987 (Glencross, 15).  This is very important because it shows the European Union most likely will not expand south of the Mediterranean Sea.  Throughout history Europe experienced ambiguous treaties that were the foundation of Europe all together.  The treaties did not provide specific details regarding which countries could be potential EU members or which countries are considered European.  The EU’s borders to the East remain the most problematic.  Many countries would love to be apart of the EU in order to gain economical and political power.  

The Idea of Europe: Greece 

When Greece joined the European Union it ended their dictatorship and started to incorporate democracy into their society again.  Greece wanted to become a member of the EU because they wanted the community to gain the stable institutional framework used to better their  political system along with their institutions.  Greece also wanted to develop relationships with countries other than the United States.  This would strengthen their independence regionally and internationally.  One of Greece’s main goals was to develop and modernize their economy and society.  Greece wanted to further help the development of European integration as a whole.      

The European Commission was optimistic about letting Greece join the EU.  Greece had a weak economy which in turn could end up harming other member states.  German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt was extremely worried because Greece had trouble for example collecting taxes from their most prestigious citizens.  It was not until Konstantinos Karamanlis’ argument about Greece offering a cultural import towards the European Union that the European leader found reasonable to let Greece join the EU.  Konstantinos Karamanlis was a prestigious political figure in Greek history.  Two years after joining the EU they joined the euro as well furthering their integration into Europe.  However, interestingly enough Greece is extremely close to withdrawing from the euro today because of their recession and debt.  

Bibliography 

“Greece’s Course in the EU.” Culture: Greek Customs. Accessed October 01, 2018. https://www.mfa.gr/en/foreign-policy/greece-in-the-eu/greeces-course-in-the-eu.html.

Glencross, Andrew. The Politics of European Integration: Political Union or a House Divided? Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2014.

James Angelos, Bayer AG, Polish Electricity Association, and VELUX Group. “Why on Earth Is Greece in the EU?” POLITICO. June 22, 2015. Accessed October 01, 2018. https://www.politico.eu/article/why-is-greece-in-the-eu-grexit/.