E pluribus unum?

Published on 21 August 2009 at 10:14

When you come to think about a united Europe, it’s hard to avoid comparisons with the United States. Absorbed by the endless disputes over the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, expansion of the Euro zone, or the shape of EU foreign policy, we, the Europeans, may forget that it was the US constitution that lay the foundation for a strong American state. The US was initially only a loose confederation of states, until 1792 it didn’t have a single currency, and for well over 100 years of its existence was said to lack any foreign policy.
What made for the later success of America was not only the vision of the Founding Fathers, but also that of anonymous colonists who crossed the Atlantic in pursuit of personal happiness or with a mission to build a better New World. Out of national and cultural diversity, they have developed over time a strong sense of unity and American identity.
Exhausted by the consumption of its latest enlargement and the global economic crisis, Europe is divided now by conflicting national interests and lack of long-term vision – both on the individual and national level. The gap between the centres of wealth and the poor peripheries is slow to close. The former may not feel the need, the latter may lack the means to speed up or even define the process. Cherishing the thought of becoming a soft power, Europe fails to remember that power comes from unity and it needs a vision– like in the American motto: E pluribus unum, or “Out of Many, One.”

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