What is Europe? Where are its Boundaries?

 

The question of ‘What is Europe’ can have multiple interpretations. The physical limits of Europe’s size are not usually heavily disputed. The term Eurasia is sometimes used to describe the continent of Europe and many large Asian nations combined. However, Europe is usually described as extending from the U.K. (and Iceland) to the west all the way to Russia in the East. Scandinavian countries make up northern Europe and Mediterranean nations to the south (Albania, Turkey, Cyprus). This makes Europe a very large place, with huge cultural differences between Eastern and Western Europe. To answer the question bluntly, Europe is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere (and almost all in the Eastern Hemisphere) bordered mainly by water as well as Asia to the East. Europe is significant because it was the birthplace of Western Civilization over 2000 years ago. The legacy of the Roman Empire and Ancient Greece can still be easily felt today in the western world. While all European countries are different, they were traditionally similar in some aspects. Royal monarchies, Christian faith, and fair skinned people have dominated most of Europe in past centuries. Boundaries of Europe are seen as soon as Turkey ends and the Middle East begins (Syria), where the religious and political culture changes completely. Europe is also not defined as just the EU countries. The Soviet Union once ruled over almost half of Europe, and it’s largest remnants (Russia, Ukraine) are not apart of the EU. Geographic Europe absolutely stretches through Russia and to the most southeastern parts of the continent.

 

The Idea of Europe (Romania)

 

When thinking about Europe, Romania is probably one of the last countries to come to mind. Romania has a troubled past, but was originally part of the Ottoman Empire that occupied the entire Balkan Peninsula. Historically, Romania does fit in to the ‘idea’ of Europe. It was occupied by a monarchy as the Kingdom of Romania, run by Prince Carol I in the 19th century. Romania then stayed neutral during World War I, and attempted to do the same in World War II before a Soviet Ultimatum resulted in a military invasion of Romania. The King was replaced with General Ion Antonescu, who contributed to the killing of hundreds of thousands of Jews in the Holocaust and presided over two successful wartime dictatorships. He was tried and executed in 1946, and afterwards the Soviets installed a communist regime in Romania until 1989. While most of the revolutions of 1989 and the years onward were bloodless in Eastern Europe, Romania’s was one of the few that transitioned violently. In the contemporary period, Romania has shown growth and steps toward European integration. It joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007. Culturally, Romania does fit into the idea of Europe. An overwhelming majority of the population describes themselves as Christians, although there is no official state religion. The Romanian language also shares many features with western Romance languages such as French, Spanish, and Italian. Despite these similarities, Romania is still a developing country. It faces problems with governmental corruption and infrastructure. Bucharest is Romania’s capital and largest city, also serving as its cultural and financial center, similar to the rest of Europe. The city also hosted the 2008 NATO summit. Overall, Romania fits into the idea of Europe, and has integrated into Europe, but still has development needed to be done in order to fully be part of what ‘Europe’ truly is.