Spain and Ukraine and the Idea of Pan-Europe: Two National Histories of a European Project

This article presents a common thesis on the role of Pan-Europe in Spain and Ukraine as two distinct experiences of the same European idea. A bilateral approach is adopted, as examining the current concept of Pan-Europa – that is, the experience of the Pan-European Movement – in Spain and Ukraine allows us to present the history of Pan-Europa as a European phenomenon and to connect two ends of the continent. The article provides a brief overview of the history of the Pan-European movement. The value of this overview lies in the fact that it covers not only the movement's history during the era of Coudenhove-Kalergi – a period already well-documented in historiography – but also offers a concise account of the activities of Otto von Habsburg, Coudenhove-Kalergi’s successor. Particular emphasis is placed on Habsburg’s stance regarding the countries of Eastern Europe – those that found themselves behind the Iron Curtain. The article also highlights Otto von Habsburg’s warnings concerning the Russian threat, which resonate with particular relevance today. The authors also examined Otto von Habsburg’s attitude toward Spain and Ukraine and how this was linked to the Pan-European movement in those countries. Pan-Europa was founded with a continental vision and, since the time of Coudenhove-Kalergi, its history has been linked to the overcoming of European divisions. Spain and Ukraine offer precisely two very different historical experiences of that same aspiration. Ukraine lends the article an extraordinary historical relevance. The Pan-European tradition itself has for decades addressed the division between Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe, and the organization has maintained an active relationship with Ukraine. The article may draw an ambitious conclusion: the Pan-Europa experience in Spain and Ukraine are not simply two national projects, but two ways in which the pan-European idea has responded to different historical challenges: Spain’s integration into the European project, on the one hand, and Ukraine’s struggle for full membership of Europe, on the other. Finally, it aims to be a simple and brief contribution to the history of Spanish, Ukrainian and European pro-Europeanism in the 20th and 21st centuries. We believe that a historical source produced by the contemporary leaders of the two national sections themselves offers a unique perspective and added value to the study, as well as symbolic value due to its joint authorship. Especially since the issue has not been examined from this perspective in either Ukrainian or Spanish historiography.