Part 1 | Europe's messy march to a more perfect union

The Irish vote in June may have stuck a pin in the dream of the march to political unity in Europe (see "Irish vote to remain Irish," Seattle Times editorial, June 17), but it did not burst the balloon. Eighteen countries had fully or partially ratified the treaty and Ireland was the only nation whose constitution required a referendum.

Even though mainstream political parties were strongly supportive (96 percent of the Irish Parliament was in favor), a majority of the people were opposed to the creation of a strong European presidency and streamlined cooperation on everything from climate change to terrorism. There is a deep feeling — more among the people than the political elite — that European political unity is moving too quickly.

It is now imperative that Europeans remind themselves how far they have come, that they share fundamental philosophical values, customs and principles. All of the now 27 EU countries have affirmed the basic human values of Western society: freedom, democracy, tolerance, women's rights, respect for the values of the other, the rule of law, reason, and knowing and telling the truth. They share mindsets and worldviews. There is much more convergence than divergence in thought and mind all across Europe.

Moreover, my sense is that former Pope John Paul II was essentially right back in 1979 when he emphasized that Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals — Spain to Russia — is a cultural unity, breathing with its two lungs, East and West. And by East and West he meant two distinct expressions of the same culture.

Similarly, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in 1990 pursued the goal of "one Europe, whole and free." For Kohl, German unity and European unity were two sides of the same coin.

Even though Europe may have two polarized camps about whether to include a reference to Christianity as a defining influence on European culture, thinkers from both sides are beginning to agree on one point: a restoration of Europe's moral base is essential if it is to develop a strong sense of identity.

In Russia, localities are increasingly decreeing that to receive a proper public-school education, children should be steeped in the ways of the Russian Orthodox Church, including its traditions and liturgy. Recently in France, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II stressed that while Christians may differ on specific political issues, a profound religious bond underpins Western and Eastern European cultural and political values.

Even in secular France, President Nicolas Sarkozy called last February for a return to religion. He stressed that climate change and the return of religion are the two challenges that the 21st century will face. They will contribute to the restructuring of society perhaps even more than the ideologies of the 20th century, Sarkozy declared before foreign ambassadors gathered at the Elysée Palace. The return of religion in society is an uncontroversial reality, according to Sarkozy.

Often undervalued when evaluating culture are the traditions and holidays it celebrates. When the Nazis attempted to restructure the values of Western civilization, Sir Winston Churchill was arguing for the defense of all that Europe has stood for. Among those values are the holidays celebrated all across Europe: Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day and All Saints' Day.

It is easy to argue that Europe exists as one entity. One can quickly point to the existence of the euro, but let us not forget that there were plenty of objectors to the creation of the euro, back in 1999, particularly those in charge of vending machines, parking meters and slot machines. Still, for the first time since the Roman Empire, much of Europe today shares the benefits of a single currency.

Recently, Europe embarked on a bold path to fight climate change, agreeing that one-fifth of the energy used by the 27-nation bloc by 2020 will come from renewable sources such as the sun and the wind. Europe will produce 20 percent of its power through renewable energy, an increase from the current figure of about 6 percent.

But Europe means much more than common holidays, the euro and EU decisions related to the environment. In cuisine there is the common European diet: for breakfast, a cup of strong coffee and a sweet roll, and for a snack, "frites," what we call French fries. In sport there is soccer. Almost all European newspapers will have pages of soccer results, and the European Cup is followed virtually everywhere.

In communication there is the GSM, the Global Standard for Mobiles, a cellular network that allows Europeans to be in immediate contact with every corner of Europe, and much of the rest of the world. In politics the vision is mostly familiar to Americans, but higher tax rates provide higher levels of public service, and health care, college education and mass transit are cheaper. In infrastructure, Europe now has new bridges, tunnels and highways that provide more interconnection than ever.

Europe speaking with one voice achieves more than when individual countries go their own way. The cooperation between France, Germany, England and Spain led to the achievements of Airbus. And, delays notwithstanding, the A380 will fly up to 800 people nonstop for 15,000 miles with numerous extras such as a fitness center, game rooms, conference rooms and sleeping quarters.

It bodes well for Europe's future that the younger generation is actually more optimistic about the EU than the member-state population generally. A generation of young Europeans (sometimes called Generation E) already is growing up with a single European currency, living within a single European border and debating a single European foreign policy.

Tomorrow, Part 2: Mutual enrichment