Introduction

Abstract

The fall of the Berlin Wall was the beginning of a new era for the European continent. The immediate consequences of the more-than-symbolic demolition of the wall that divided the city of Berlin were the re-unification of Germany and the beginning of democratic processes all over Eastern Europe. What followed was the Continent’s cultural, economic and political convergence, previously unparalleled in European history. In the years to follow, the supranational organisation named the European Union (EU) would economically and politically integrate the European ‘west’ with most of the European ‘east’. The process has not been without setbacks and dilemmas but it is still ongoing. The EU official motto is ‘United in Diversity’. The motto signifies Europeans longing for a continent embracing peace and prosperity; a Continent which prospers due its cultural and linguistic diversity.