What are the pros and cons of European unification?

European unification safeguards peace after two world wars and makes Europe economically strong. Its drawback is that deeply rooted national loyalties cannot simply be dissolved, and that new power blocs can stir up new rivalries.

Behind the idea of a united Europe lay the memory of two world wars. Europe was made up of many independent states whose economic interests clashed again and again. Such tensions often turned into wars. Above all, unification was meant to bind Germany firmly into a shared Europe, so that its great economic power would never again become a threat.

There was also an economic reason. No single European country could keep pace on its own with America on one side and the Far East on the other. Together, however, Europe can hold its ground in world markets. Unification also brings everyday benefits. People travel without passports and visas, and share what each country has to offer.

The drawbacks run deeper. National loyalties in Europe have grown over centuries. You cannot pull up an old tree and give it new roots somewhere else. Britain in particular, with its proud history of its own and its close ties to America, finds it hard to see itself as European first. In this way unification has revived some of the very jealousies it set out to overcome.

For the rest of the world, both sides are true at once. A strong bloc can foster peace, but it can also create new rivalries between great economic powers. Other parts of the world, such as Africa, can learn from this and work all the harder for their own unity.

Islam welcomes every kind of unity that turns enemies into friends. The verses above show that nations differ so that they may come to know one another, not so that they fight. Unification is a blessing when it rests on justice and is not directed against others.