Solidarity in a unified Europe

Abstract

The division of Europe that began in 1945 is now ended. The process that began with the decision by the Hungarian government to allow East Germans, free passage to the west led rapidly to the fall of the Berlin Wall and, two years later, the break up of the Soviet Union. The pace of change was remarkable and, in 2004 eight former eastern bloc countries, including three former Soviet republics, joined the European Union. In 2007 they were joined by two other former communist states, Romania and Bulgaria.1 The post-war division of Europe is now at an end. Or is it? It certainly can seem so, to the casual observer. But Europe is divided in many ways, and not just in geography. Benjamin Disraeli, a 19th century British Prime Minister, noted the presence, in England, of ‘Two nations between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets … The rich and the poor.’ 2 Disraeli was writing at a time when the inequalities in European societies were stark. The endless struggle against adversity waged by the poor, every day, of their often short lives is chronicled vividly, in their different ways, by Frederick Engels3 and Charles Dickens.4 The situation now is clearly very different. Europe's citizens emerged from the ruins of the Second World War determined to establish systems of social protection. The details differed but they all had a common goal, to protect one's neighbours and, if disaster struck, oneself, from penury and avoidable death. This was a remarkable achievement, especially when compared with the United States. By the 1990s, every single European country had achieved universal health care coverage. Today, one …