MOSCOW -- Nobody truly knows where Europe ends. Geographically, it is supposed to run all the way east to the Ural Mountains, but few would argue that this definition should be taken seriously. What matters is culture and politics and the allegiances resulting from both. With the recent expansion of the European Union, the question of what it takes to become a European has acquired new urgency and now causes much controversy throughout the Continent.
On May 1, eight former communist states of Eastern Europe and two Mediterranean nations joined the EU. As the new Europeans expressed their delight and gratitude, a number of capitals winced. Other post-communist countries like Russia indignantly asked whether they were any worse than Slovenia or Lithuania. Why did the EU think that they were not good enough to join the club, too?
Public opinion in the pillar countries of the EU, such as Germany and France, angrily divided into those who prophesied new prosperity and stability on the Continent and those who started getting ready for uncontrollable and disruptive immigration from the east.