I am from Cyprus, which is a European Union country, and I am happy to see that both sides have a very good impression of Europe. French, who actually live there, consider European Union as a very important institution and they are happy that travelling or working around Europe is now much easier. They only have one currency and the exchanges - mostly the economic ones - are easier. In addition, they like the fact that there is a lot of diversity: a lot of countries, a lot of languages... They really add to the European culture a lot. The Americans think that Europe is cool but mostly from another point of view. They view it as a cultural place with a lot of history. Some people also mentioned that it is expensive.

Europe means something different to the Americans and French. To the Americans, Europe is a fanciful, far away place filled with culture and history. Many people used the words "culture," "cathedrals," "food," "history," "ancestors," etc. Even though the French recognize European diversity, they are already immersed in the culture and history on a daily basis and don't think about it. I'm sure Americans think the same way about the USA. There might not be as much history relative to the USA, but Americans think more about modern times just like the French do with Europe. Some of the most common words on the French side are "euro" and "union européenne," and they clearly show that now is more important than then. Americans also praise Europe for being "awesome," "classy," "cool," "elegant," etc., something to which the French probably don't pay attention because it's a norm or just a European stereotype. 

From the responses, it does not sound like the American students have a sense that Europe affects their everyday lives.  It is described as 'old', 'foreign', and 'distant', which makes it sound irrelevant.  For the French, they live, work, and travel in Europe all the time, so the currency and policies used by the EU are very important, and influence many things for them.  I think the American perspective is at times too detached, and perhaps shows that we do not have a very good understanding of the role Europe plays in the international community.

The Americans describe Europe as 'liberal', 'historic', 'cultured' and 'diverse'. These have postive connotations which show that Americans appreciate the art, culture and history of Europe.

The French on the other hand, seemed to be accustomed to European culture. They use words like 'Euro' and 'EU' which show that they associate Europe with the things that affect their life on a daily basis, such as currency and free trade.

Americans, since they do not live in Europe, seem not to know or care as much about European policies as the French do. They associate Europe with things that are interesting to a tourist, such as 'cathedrals', 'the alps' and 'food'.

Depuis la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale, le mot Europe a pris une nouvelle dimension pour chaques Européens.

Comme vous le savez, l'Union Européene a été créé pour évité de nouveaux conflits en Europe, et assurer une meilleur harmonie, ainsi que la paix.

De ce fait, les Francais, les anglais, les allemands, les espagnoles, .... ainsi que tout les 27 pays de l'union, ne possédent plus leur propre nationalité, mais aussi la nationalité Européene.

Ainsi, même si l'europe occidentale est plus dévellopper, l'Union Européene permet d'amelioré l'économie de chaques pays, même si cela est compliquer avec la con frontations de très nombreuses cultures differentes.

L'UE est une insttituion formidable que se soit sur le plan économique, culturel comme dans un grand nombre de domaine. Grace à L'UE nous n'avons plus une citoyénneté mais deux. Vivre dans un pays membre de l'UE est pour moi une chance même si cela peut comporter des inconvéniants.

Julien, you mention that member countries no longer have their own nationality. Is that not a vision of what it might one day become, rather than a current reality? In fact, reading about resistance against the european constitution (most recently in Ireland), it appears that the EU has lost some steam.

Also, and maybe more interestingly, would you be happy to give up your French nationality for a European one?

Non il s'agit plutôt d'une sorte de double nationalité, car bien sur je ne pourrai pas laissé tomber ma nationalité Francaise, mais par contre je me sent Francais et Européen.

Il est vrai que l'Europe connait quelques difficultées, nottament avec le traité de Lisbonne, qui doit être vôté en Irlande par référendum ( mais selon les sondages le oui devrait passer), mais aujourd'hui, cette Union reste très importante, car par exemple, chaques pays Européens ne pourront pas se débrouiller seul face à la crise économique.

Quel est le point de vue des Américains a propos de L'union Européenne ?

Estelle,

You speak about having both opportunitites and difficulties as a member of the EU. An opportunity that I can think of is to be able to travel to other countries in the EU without a visa, a pitfall might be losing your French identity. Could you give some more such examples that apply to your daily life?

Natasha, l'UE m'a permis de voyager facilement en Espagne, en Belgique, en Allemagne,en Autriche, en Hongrie, en Italie et en Croatie. Pour visiter ces pays il m'a suffit de ma carte d'identité, de ma carte eurpoéenne d'assurance maladie et une sortie de territoire. Autant dire un jeu d'enfant pour voyager dans les pays membres. Après il est vrai qu'il est parfois difficile de prendre conscience de ça citoyenneté européenne. L'UE comporte des inconvénients mais plus sur un plan "politique", ces temps-ci surtout au niveau de l'agriculture. Autrement le changement de monnaie n'a pas été facile même si l'euros est un avantages, le passage du franc à l'euros n'a pas été simple pour tous et beaucoup de personne ont eu l'impression que le passega à l'euros a fait augmenter le coût de la vie.

Natasha j'aimerai connaître ton opinion sur l'UE, savoir quelle vision tu as de l'UE?