Europe is burning. At the end of the Second World War, when many states had been torn by conflict, some of them decided to join the economic and political measures to ensure lasting peace and avoid the risk of further wars between neighboring countries. Thus was born the European Union: from the ashes of a world war that had destroyed Europe and destabilized the entire world. Today as then, Europe is in flames, this time convulsed by an economic crisis that has swept around the globe and has challenged the agreements that had worked so hard to make Europe a political, social and economic reality. For decades we have been just another continent to find on the atlas, a collection of the States united geographically but with different history, culture and society; then international diplomacy, the great political changes, technological innovation and globalization have made possible the idea of one big country where the differences of language, culture and economy were no longer barriers to be removed but were a possibility of growing. This is how the euro was born and with him the single European market which has allowed the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital. It has finally begun to talk about European citizens, and thanks to the common currency and the arrangements ”Schengen” that allow you to travel freely without passport checks at borders, there is no place in Europe that cannot be visited.
Now millions of young people are studying abroad with financial support from the EU. More and more agreements have been taken to protect the environment and work on defense and security . But then the flames were back again. This decade began with an earthquake that shook the American economy and as the tidal wave caused by the tsunami, the feared crisis has moved rapidly towards us, flooding our safe banks and sinking our economies. We drifted away and as castaways disposed to do anything to save us, we forgot to be part of one big system and we started the war of all against all. Individual states are too busy to solve its internal problems, have not looked to Europe in a global community and instead of finding solutions they have tried to save the situation with national laws and proposals. Not enough has been done so that the economically weaker states not collapsed under the blows of international finance, to drag a bit down all over Europe in a domino effect by disturbing implications. The stock market crash, the rise of all commodities, the growing youth unemployment, inflation, the crisis of government, the difficulty of finding commonly shared agreements set fire to Europe. Yet all is not lost. The word crisis in ancient Greek means possibility and also in China is represented with two different ideograms: danger and opportunity. It is from the bottom that we can restart with right choices and under the direction of enlightened politicians who cooperate; in this way this crisis can be an opportunity to strengthen international links, revitalize the European economy and remove barriers to growth and lasting wellness.
We must strive for a united Europe, a Europe in which young people have the opportunity to build a future, a Europe that respects the environment and invest in new green technologies, a Europe that can grow both culturally and economically and that can be able to compete with the major world powers. In mythology there is a bird with great strength and incredible healing powers, is the Phoenix. The Phoenix lives a long life and when it gets old and approaches the moment of death, it catches fire and soon after it comes back to life from its ashes, reviving immortal. Europe is an old phoenix risen from the ashes of World War II, now once again on fire, ready to resurrect and take off even stronger, shining towards new horizons. Our continent burns but it is not the end. It is a new beginning.