Today, Spain is celebrating victory in the final of the UEFA
European Football Championship in Kyiv. But it's not just Madrid that has a
reason to rejoice. The people of Poland and Ukraine also have the right to
celebrate.
Their successful and largely incident-free performance as
hosts has soundly disproved any lingering notions that they are pariahs of
traditional Europe.
Specifically, Poles and Ukrainians have shown that their
cultures fit into a greater European identity. Though this identity remains a
vague concept, the Euro has helped to explain some of the things it consists
of: a popular unifying sport, an eyebrow-raising love of beer, as well as
various social problems that need addressing.
