European economic integration results in European cultural integration. Discuss - Essay Example

However, there are those who suggest the cultural integration is more or less impossible since the differences between the countries which form the European Union are so vast that a cultural divide will always remain (Bruter, 2004). For example, the case of America can be presented where cultural divides still exist even when the economies of the American states are more or less perfectly integrated and the language is also the same. Despite these similarities, there are significant differences between urban and rural American cultures as well as the several subcultures living in the country.

It seems that cultural and economic integration in Europe are certainly related since the EU considers the sharing of cultural values to be something that is supposed to produce better Europeans (EC, 2006). However, to say that economic cooperation would produce better cultural integration might be a little pessimistic since this statement also suggests that better cultural integration might not be as fast without having economic cooperation first (Erdogan, 2006). Secondly, it can also be said that the present natural level of cultural homogeneity might be good enough since if the Europeans totally integrate their cultures from Dusseldorf to Birmingham, the continent would certainly lose a lot of its charm (Gordon, 2004).

There are also examples of situations where economic integration does not help cultural integration and in severe cases, economic integration might be seen as a negative force of globalisation which causes a backlash against the European ideal (Gordon, 2004). In Turkey for example, economic integration and strong economic connections had been established for years, yet complete integration is still far off. The Economist (2005) reported that there were significant differences and opposition levels to Turkey in Europe and to Europe in Turkey.

The differences are based not only on legal