There is a lot of room for differences in the European Union.

Yes, Europe is almost synonymous with diversity.

The fact that it is now also a legal community does not change anything.

The common values ​​and principles provide a framework, the limits of which must be struggled again and again.

There are notable differences in the Member States that are accepted by the European courts.

What is allowed in some would be almost unthinkable in others: convictions in absentia, burqa bans in public, wearing headscarves at work, crucifixes in classrooms.

Europe as a whole takes the peculiarities of its members into account, because only their national identities constitute the Union.

The community only has the desired added value if every state adheres to the rules that have been agreed upon together.

On the whole, it works well if you not only keep in mind the diversity of different cultures, but also the zeal in Brussels for regulation.

Caution in handling

In all small-scale conflicts that have always existed, it is important not to lose sight of the big picture: the fundamental primacy of European law over national as well as respect for national identities, from which European law is nourished. And last but not least: be careful when dealing with them. The locomotives of European unification such as the nuclear power France and the central economic power Germany are faced with the constant challenge of being part of a community of equals before the law; they are nothing better than Luxembourg, than Poland or Hungary.

The new members from the East in particular, who are old Europeans and who threw off the yoke of dictatorship a short time ago, find it difficult for other reasons.

There is a strong friend-foe thinking and the idea that you have leased the truth yourself.

It has still not been internalized that not everything can be decided upon even with a large majority.

Minorities in particular need protection.

If homosexuals, transsexuals and others who do not correspond to the ideas of the governments are officially marginalized and defamed, then Hungary and Poland must face a European procedure.

Brussels colonialism

This applies in particular to attempts to politicize and bring the judiciary into line in Poland, which the European Court of Justice has now criticized.

The fact that the government in Warsaw speaks of Brussels colonialism and, like the Polish Constitutional Court, denies the European Court of Justice the right to judge Poland, marks a new high point in the disregard for the European idea.

That sounds like a farewell to everything that Poland has committed to.

Anyone who does something like this cannot appeal to the German Federal Constitutional Court, which has consistently strengthened the rank of European law.

A final check in exceptional cases, which other constitutional courts also reserve, is in accordance with the law of the union of states.

The decisive factor is respect for the other and the Union.