The Change Mariner

Newest 'Europeans' Struggle to Define That Label

The New York Times:

As one of the new generation of Euro-executives who fly around the Continent as readily as others might take the bus across town, Petr Eisler feels at home in Europe, mostly. It is only now and then -- when he arrives at the immigration desk at Heathrow Airport in London, for example -- that he is suddenly flung back into his old role as an outsider at the European party.

"They're always asking me how long I plan to stay, and do I have enough money with me," said Mr. Eisler, 39, a Czech who founded a software company here more than a decade ago, speaks fluent English and recently opened an office in London.

As the European Union prepared to open its doors on May 1 to 10 new countries, including the Czech Republic, people in their 20's and 30's interviewed here and elsewhere in Europe said they felt at once part of the new Europe and separate from it. The feeling has partly to do with the way Europe's countries have historically perceived each other, and partly to do with puzzlement about what "Europe" -- the philosophical concept -- actually is.

Posted by Bob King at May 3, 2004 12:45 PM | TrackBack
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