Greater Europe refers to the idea of an extended

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. This generally implies a Europe which transcends traditional geographic boundaries to include trans-Eurasian countries, or countries in close proximity to

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

with strong political,

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

, or

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...

links to Europe. EU neighbourhood initiatives

Definitions

The concept of Greater Europe may specifically deal with the current enlargement agenda or the potential future enlargement of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. It may also reference a more "re-unified" Europe following the fall of the Iron Curtain, the intensification of

European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic, political, legal, social, and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its ...

, the potential establishment of a Federal Europe, or to the concept of the Eurosphere and of Europe's increasing global influence. Other definitions of Greater Europe may include all

European states The list below includes all entities falling even partially under any of the various common definitions of Europe, geographical or political. Fifty generally recognised sovereign states, Kosovo with limited, but substantial, international reco ...

and CIS countries; or all European states and the

Post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

of the Eurasian Economic Union; theoretically stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok. Europe_Council_Founders_2022

Support

Several organizations exist promoting discussion and debate surrounding Greater Europe, among them th
Institute for a Greater Europe
and the Youth Association for a Greater Europe. There are also several organizations which promote increased dialogue and greater economic and political integration among states within Greater Europe, including: *

Assembly of European Regions The Assembly of European Regions (AER) is the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe. Bringing together regions from 35 countries and 15 interregional organisations, AER is a forum for interregional cooperation. Histori ...

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010 ...

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

Eastern Partnership The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European External Action Service of the European Union (EU) together with the EU, its member states, and six Eastern European partners governing the EU's relationship with the post-Sovi ...

* Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly * Euronest Parliamentary Assembly *

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially fo ...

* European Higher Education Area * European Olympic Committees * Mediterranean Union *

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...

* Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation *

TRACECA TRACECA (acronym: Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) is an international transport programme involving the European Union and 12 member states of the Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asian region.EAEU could bring enormous benefits for trade and business in Europe and

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

. The Initiative was founded in 2015 and is driven by businesses, business associations, and think tanks from member countries of the EU and EAEU. Among the founding members ar
the German-Russian Forumthe German Chamber of Commerce
and th
German Eastern Business Association
as well as international corporations such as

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

BoschSeverstal
and others. Today, the Initiative counts on more than 100 members from 12 countries from the EU and EAEU. It sees itself as an open circle involving all countries from Lisbon to Vladivostok.

Goals of the Lisbon Vladivostok initiative

The markets of the EU and the EAEU cover more than 630 million inhabitants. Despite different levels of development of the two unions, by creating lasting networks between officials, maintaining continual dialogue, and through the establishment of a common economic area in the countries of the EU and the EAEU, it may be possible to combat European and Eurasian issues of the future more effectively.

References

External links

*
Greater Europe: Putin's vision of Europe (Dis)integration
by Marek Menkiszak Politics of Europe Pan-Europeanism Pan-European nationalism {{europe-stub

Definitions

Support

Goals of the Lisbon Vladivostok initiative

See also

References

External links