Das Europa der Monetären Einheit im Gegensatz zum Europa der Nationalen Kulturellen Uneinheit[Europe Of Monetary Unity In Contrast With The Europe Of National And Cultural Diversity]

The history of Europe is riddled with conflict and disagreement between its nations and the present has not managed to erase their traces. The establishment of the European Union, although started as an economic project (EEC), has gained some other dimensions as well: monetary, political and cultural. Not all EU member states are equally interested in each of these dimensions. Old member states, for example, wish to maintain economic development, social and individual standard, their national and cultural identities. New members, on the other hand, expect faster economic development, raising social and individual standard, social security and stability. These differences call into question the functional unity of the EU which definitely requires a common European identity. Transnationalization and cosmopolitization of today's world suppress the European traditionally national orientation. In addition, the pattern of a European standard emerging through a consumption culture demands abandonment of national traditions. Nevertheless, this does not necessarily mean the emergence of a unitary Europe for an obvious reason: there is significant inequality between European nations. Can perhaps monetary unity be the first important step in overcoming historical differences, economic inequality and national and cultural self-sufficiency? Can common goals of monetary policy, its elastic organization and expansion to new countries contribute to this? These are some of the issues analyzed in this paper, together with the relationship between the Croatian currency kuna and the euro.