I Woke Up European, How I Lost a Country and Gained a Continent

Good morning, Europe. I’m awake.

It is Saturday morning, 7:20 a.m., and I am beginning to write this article. I wonder why I couldn’t sleep for another hour, but then I remember that the moment I opened my eyes, I thought that if I happened to wake up, I could write something else for the blog.

Something strange always happens whenever I begin writing. Although I don’t always have an idea I want to write about, as soon as I start hitting the keys, it feels as though a tap of thoughts, experiences, and emotions has been turned on.

I have worked on other projects before, and some time ago I wrote about wine, where I noticed the same thing. Writing and sharing content in this way sets me free. It gives me the opportunity to express my ideas exactly as I want to. If I were having a conversation or dictating what I wanted to communicate to you, I probably wouldn’t achieve the same effect.

The speed at which I write largely determines the flow of ideas inside my head. It is like riding a bicycle in the dark while holding a torch. If I ride too fast, I risk outrunning my light. But if I pedal slowly enough, then as I move forward, I begin to see new corners and ideas worth exploring. I only hope that the final result won’t be some piece of rubbish that nobody can read. I will leave that for each of you to decide.

Now I want to talk to you about my political values, if you like. In a world where a global conflict remains a constant possibility, I believe it is important to make my own position perfectly clear.

At present, we can see how US foreign policy is being dictated by a level of corruption unseen in recent decades. I would even say never seen before. If you think about it, no politician in the past 100 years has been as corrupt as the Trump administration. I have no proof, and this is only my personal opinion, but I hope that the evidence will come to light after Trump leaves office.

In a way, we Europeans should thank Trump for everything he has destroyed in recent months. Why? Because Europe has united in the face of external aggression. And I feel that this is becoming an increasingly important movement. People tend to look beyond their differences and understand that only together can they play a more important role than they do today.

Donald said that Europe was created to destroy the United States. I would argue that the United States has tried to maintain a monopoly over Europe from the very beginning. How else can you explain 450 million Europeans asking 300 million Americans to protect them from 150 million Russians? In what universe does that sentence make sense? Trump’s epileptic fits are exactly the flame Europe needed.

Look at my own case. I was born in Romania during the communist era. In 2012, I moved to Germany, where I lived for 12 years, until 2024, when I moved again, this time to France, near the border.

In Germany, we moved all over the country. We started in the north, in the Bielefeld–Paderborn region, or Ostwestfalen-Lippe. From there, we moved to Wiesbaden while I was working in Frankfurt.

More than 100 different nationalities are represented among the people working at Frankfurt University Hospital, and each person brings with them a part of their own history and culture. That is where, for example, I met Daniel, a 20-year-old anaesthesia assistant. Some time later, he returned to his hometown of León, in northern Spain—but not before sharing his culture and history with us.

When we lived in northern Europe, we travelled to the Netherlands quite often. The Netherlands is like a smaller, but perhaps even better, version of Germany. The streets are clean, and the people are direct and efficient.

Like most Europeans, we go to Spain on holiday at least once a year. In Germany, I also met Amilcar, another friend with whom I have stayed in touch over the years. Born in Cádiz, in the far southwest of Spain, he worked as a urologist in Germany for a while before returning to his home country.

We still have relatives in Italy, and we used to have relatives in England. We have visited both countries several times.

Somehow, although I have both Romanian and German citizenship, I no longer feel either Romanian or German. Somewhere in all this rushing around Europe, I lost my national identity, and I now identify strongly as a European.

My country begins on the shores of Spain and Portugal and stretches eastward all the way to Ukraine, including Ukraine itself. In my mind and in my heart, Ukraine and the Ukrainian people are part of Europe and the European Union. In recent years, in the face of the Russian invasion, they have shown that they are fighting for and identify with the same values as the rest of Europe. It is probably only a matter of time before they officially join the EU.

Looking from south to north, my country extends from the southernmost point of Italy all the way to the northernmost reaches of Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Although I have never visited the north, all our neighbours there command my deepest respect. I consider them intelligent, fair, and big-hearted people.

So, you see, although I lost a country and an identity, I gained an entire continent.

I do not know whether the rest of Europe thinks as I do. Perhaps I am the only one, in which case it will be a lonely existence. Nevertheless, I trust that the new generations feel exactly the same way. And these feelings are now growing stronger.

But if all Europeans feel the same way, how is it possible that we find ourselves in the ridiculous position of 450 million people asking 300 million Americans to protect them from 150 million Russians?

Read that sentence one more time!