Europe on the Move

The Italian writer Erri De Luca on the global South as the source of the future, on the European nightmare and on writers as a partisan vanguard of a new EU. A statement.

On national and Europe-wide referendums, Brexit, the idea of direct democracy – and why Switzerland is a flawed role model.

Our author was friends with neo-Nazis – and had to run away from them. That paradox was part for the course in 1990s East Germany. And today? Daniel Schulz describes life as a youth in the 90s after reunification in East Germany. 

Bucharest is a city of contrasts. A jumbled-up world, a wild architectural mix, and a Balkan atmosphere that makes for a colourful, loud and lively city. It’s a universe unto itself that functions according to its own rules. With buildings of architectural value, abandoned monuments and magnificent churches right beside sex shops and ill-famed night clubs.

Marseille is said to be unique, extreme, marginal; people describe it as poor, dangerous, cosmopolitan; they delight in its Provençal accent, glorify its rebellious spirit and vilify the corrupt workings of this city, which is also used as a laboratory for testing dicey policies.

Irena Vrkljan was born in Belgrade in 1930, her mother came from Vienna, her father read her poems by Morgenstern. “I actually lived in a European world,” says the writer. In 1941 her family fled to Zagreb. But it was not until after the war that she learnt about the war.

Oleh Panchuk was born in 1932 in Chernivtsi as grandson of the Ukrainian writer Olha Kobyljanska. In this interview he tells us why the Soviet government lionised his grandmother, why he studied chemistry – and about the protests on the Maiden, which in his eyes could have ended differently.

In the 1980s, Bartolomeo Sorge, an Italian Jesuit, became politically active in Palermo: “We wanted to change the world and we started with the people in the street.” His solution, then as now in Europe’s current crisis, is education. He explains why to philosopher and theologian Jörg Nies.

Jazz singer Karin Krog was just a little girl when Germany marched into her native Norway. “When a bomb struck nearby,” she recalls, “I simply slept right through it." She later recorded an album in Berlin. She talks about her love of jazz and Europe with Norwegian journalist and literary critic Erle Marie Sørheim.

Iceland’s Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was the first woman in the world to be elected head of state. Although she grew up in a cosmopolitan environment and went on to study in France, “We are on an island, bordered by the sea,” she says of her native country. In an interview with the writer Kristof Magnusson, she looks back on her life in Europe.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, “We thought we’d finally become part of the West,” says Slovakian philosopher Egon Gál. He tells author Tereza Reichelova, who studied philosophy and political science in Prague, why the reality was a whole different story and why he experienced the 1960s as a decade of reflection.

France meant something to him during his childhood, but Europe didn’t, recounts French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière. In conversation with opera director Jeanne Pansard-Besson he talks about how he regarded his work in Germany shortly after the war and why he still feels ambivalent about European unity to this day.

In the debates surrounding the euro crisis, some saw the birth of a European public. The European elections in 2014 were followed by disillusionment. What if the EU didn’t exist – would we then be more likely to debate together?

For Brussels, the EU means above all one thing: plenty of jobs. What if "the capital of Europe", and with it cities like Luxembourg or Strasbourg, were suddenly without EU institutions?

The EU Erasmus program makes it easier for students to spend a semester abroad. This also benefits many cities. What if the Erasmus program were cut short or completely discontinued?

Whether at home or abroad: since 2017, you pay the same tariff in the EU for telephone calls and mobile data. What if there were still high roaming charges in countries like Italy?

Anyone crossing national borders within the EU will no longer encounter turnpikes. Since 1995, the Schengen Agreement has ensured freedom of travel. What if border controls were reintroduced everywhere?

France was the initiator of the PAC, the common agricultural policy in the EU. Today PAC ensures the diversity of food in many countries. What if the common agricultural policy were completely abandoned?

Many older Britons have settled in Spain to enjoy the sun: the EU ensures that citizens of EU member states can receive their pensions abroad. What if the British are no longer part of the EU?

Stephen Hawking already knew: Brexit is also bad for British researchers. What if they had to forego EU funds in the future?

Latvia has benefited from economic support as has no other EU member. What if the Baltic country had never received it?

When Finland takes over the presidency of the EU this summer, climate policy will be at the top of the agenda. What if the country didn’t have this influence?

Where in Europe do people think like you do? Test yourself with our egometer and find out where you stand!

Art may not know any boundaries, but the art world certainly does. So how can curators become better networked – and make a stand for their shared values? Discussing this with you will be the artists and curators Simona Da Pozzo, Gottfried Hattinger and Hajnalka Somogyi. Join the debate – here on goethe.de and on Facebook and Twitter!

The EU is frequently criticised for excessively bureaucratic, putting the needs of the private sector ahead of those of its citizens, and a lack of transparency. But are these accusations actually true, and, if so, what is Brussels doing to address them?

Hate speech and fake news can massively influence public opinion. These apps and initiatives set out to counter that by strengthening political awareness and encouraging positive online discourse. 

The media art project “Smile to Vote” revolves around a voting booth that scans faces and automates the vote-casting process. Its originator, artist Alexander Peterhaensel, criticises the increasing encroachment of technology on privacy. 

More than 100,000 Brits have built lives in Germany, and all have been affected by their homeland’s determination to leave the European Union. We asked them what they think about Brexit and how they are handling the situation. 

A new study points out, that among young Europeans there is a lack of trust in institutions such as politics and the media. But this does not lead to less commitment, says the project’s coordinator, Maximilian von Schwartz, from the Sinus opinion research institute.

Tens of thousands have been demonstrating for months in Germany – for example, at the “Pulse of Europe” rallies. They want to send a signal: Europe is important to us citizens.

Transnational European media are essential for the formation of European public opinion and of a European identity – particularly theses days, in these times of political tension. What media services are already available and how well do they work?

In March 1957, the Treaty of Rome laid the foundations for the later European Union. The political scientist Claus Leggewie on the value of the European idea and the threats to which it is exposed.