Europe And The Euro

In the mid of the 90's our small continent which is correctly regarded a strange shaped appendix on the North-Western part of Asia was somehow on the peak of euphoria. The scars of the collapsed Eastern Block were fortunately not so deep that it had to take a decade or longer to heal rattled Europe and the flourishing new democracies began to pave their ways to a brighter future, freed from the yoke of communism and heading towards new gained liberty.

The Euro wasn't still invented and we all handled our different currencies by changing them for the actual currency rate what reminded us a bit being in a casino - the bank (better: the exchange office) always wins. The fees bothered us a bit but the curiosity to get known to each other was even bigger. I lived at that time in East Belgium near the Dutch border and I remember being fascinated from the culture and the architecture - to my own surprise the last one was mainly northern French style influenced. The street I lived was named after the Celtic cross in memory of the Irish soldiers who fought on the side of the allies in WWII against the German occupying forces. I always felt more being a European than a German.

Now, more than fifteen years later I have the feeling we are somehow on the brink. The origin idea of Europe - growing together and providing any kind of war among our nations - seems eclipsed. The Euro crisis has risen a new North-South gap between us, the language of our representatives has become more aggressive, the whole climate seems more sinister than ever.

But stop: are Europe and the Euro really inseparable from each other? It's useful to divide both for a better look on the different values they represent: Here we have Europe and the ability to feel as European. What means that even Portuguese as Greeks, Finns as Maltese are no foreigners anymore without disrespecting their national sovereignity and their culture. There we have a currency developped by financial experts and invented from banks to alleviate the transactions of the people and - the economy and business branches.

To make it clear: this is not a demand to abandon the Euro. The problems we are confronted with are a result of negligent finance policy. Nothing what can't be repaired if the right decisions are taken and  absolutely no comparison to other, more existential trouble spots around the globe like famine, tyranny, suppression or armed conflicts.

The Euro is an artificial product which has nothing to do with our intention to grow together overcoming old ressentiments. But the cold war fought out in the meantime on the round tables representatives and economists have called to manage guarantees, credit loans and austerity measures endangers our perception being what we are - citizens and most of all human beings.

Money isn't everything. Instead we should not forget what we have reached.