Selim Ibraimi- In the last decade, there have been voices telling us that Europe is dead and that Europe is over. Recently, some comments have been made by the US administration that have given gloomy predictions for Europeans. And this has to do with easing controls not only on immigration.
In fact, both sides have lost control, and if Europe is over to some extent, according to American politicians, then surely the rest of Western civilization will also be affected, including the US.
To go further, it is worth mentioning the French philosopher Edgar Morin, born in 1921, who died two weeks ago on May 29, 2026. While everyone says that Europe has no chance, many other optimists say the opposite, because, as they say, if you have something in mind, the good things about it cannot simply disappear.
As mentioned above, the author, before and after the Second World War, supported the idea that loving Europe is loving oneself.
In his book entitled “Europe in Mind” (Penser l’Europe), published in 1987, Edgar Morin says that the real obstacle to European identity is not geography, nor language, nor history, but a failure of thought.
According to the author, the inability of Europeans to think about a common destiny to accept all the shortcomings is the main enemy of Europe.
Europeans should not produce an ideal Europe that may later seem complicated to everyone. Europe, as he writes in his book, we must constantly think about and not define it in advance. All generations must face the fate of Europe, since contradictions, according to him, only change in form so that they never disappear. “To seek a pure and unified European self is already to misunderstand what Europe is.”
Both the European part, organized within the EU, and the southern part share the same fate due to geography, history, and economy. The diagnosis for the future of Europe should not be seen in the absence of economic instability or immigration of recent decades.
The location of Europe’s enemy should be found in the general inability to think as a community, to keep the peoples of Europe under control. The crisis of European identity that is so badly portrayed in Washington is not current.
If we take Germany as an example, which in 2015 opposed the inclusion or integration of refugees from the Middle East or seasonal workers into its fold, how would the world, which still has fresh memories of the WW2, react?!
Therefore, it is not easy to play with the feelings of the past to continue the accusations and grievances against the peoples of Europe. Of course, European countries have made mistakes, and there is time to improve the situation, to think together about the Europe we love so much.
In the Western Balkans, despite more than three decades of EU assistance, the countries of the region, except Montenegro and Albania, are still guessing about the path they should follow towards Europe. Will they do so by 2030? That remains to be seen.
The essays of philosopher Edgar Morin should definitely be seen and read by our elected officials and individuals in office who have Europe in mind.
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