Dreams of Europe. In Krytyka, No. 11-12 (193-194), 2013, pp. 10-11.

The article analyzes the project of Europe in light of the Euromaidan events in Ukraine. The author distinguishes two visions of the European idea: “Europe of rules,” in which institutionally established moral norms are decisive, and “Europe of faith,” in which the European idea exists primarily as an emotional and value-based experience. The first vision is characteristic of Western Europe, the second of the countries of the former socialist bloc.

Four waves of expansion of the European idea are outlined: the formation of the European Communities; the Mediterranean wave (the accession of Greece, Spain, and Portugal); the accession of Central European countries, interpreted through Milan Kundera’s idea of the “kidnapped West”; and the Maidan protests, which give grounds to speak of a fourth wave. The article substantiates the need to expand the Ukrainian national idea into a European one, which in turn should lay claim to global significance. The author stresses that the “two Europes” need each other for further development and existence.