Cross-border romance: a balm to Europe's national tensions?

“People really are the same, [acquiring this insight] is all part of the program. In the past we were fighting each other, but the modern European identity is one of peace and solidarity,” says Dennis Abbott, a spokesman at the European Commission.

No more war

The creation of a tentative European identity has not been a linear process. At the end of World War II, the formation of a common market launched the region into unprecedented economic growth, culminating in monetary integration with the adoption of the euro in 2001.

But the momentum has slowed, as already strapped eurozone members have been pressed to help out struggling neighbors amid the eurozone crisis. Tensions have mounted over disagreements about how to solve Europe's financial woes.

Mr. Abbott notes the increased importance of the Erasmus program in times of adversity. "It's about a European identity, even more so now, because of the times we are living in.... We're going through a difficult phase, but it's still a lot better than what we went through from 1937 to 1945." 

More than 2.2 million students have participated in the program, reaching an estimated 4 percent of the total European student population over the course of their studies. By 2013, the program hopes to hit the 3 million mark to cater to the needs of an expanding international community.

A year in Krakow

Those educational exchanges are contributing to this latest evidence of integration through marriage.

Philipp Fritz, a German student who spent a year at the Jagiellonion University in Krakow, Poland, last year, reflects on his time abroad. Only 37 miles west from Berlin, Polish borders mark a different world, where culture, language, and history define a people Mr. Fritz was eager to get to know. 

“First, I learned a lot about Poland. [I] was participating in Polish language classes and trying to speak as much Polish as possible.”

He met people from all over Europe, who learned how to share common experiences and ideas in an ever-globalizing environment. “[At] parties you talk about traditions, food, notions in your home country, and in the other person's home country. Maybe this common understanding for each other, this common interest is what in [the] future will be a common European identity, or at least its basis,” he wrote in an email.

But most rewarding of all – beyond language, interpersonal, and cultural skills – is making new friends and finding love, he says. “[The] most important thing is that I made friends. I met my girlfriend. I met Kasia.”

The young couple will be moving to Germany in September, in October at the latest, Fritz wrote. “We will be living in Berlin,” and become part of a growing cohort of European students who met each other through Erasmus, might tie the knot, and are breaking down boundaries unlike ever before.

Abbott describes the phenomenon as “a beautiful European love story,” enthusiasm ringing through his voice. “But we are definitely not a dating agency,” he is quick to add. “It’s a lovely side-effect."

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