through and through. to feel european among other things, does it mean being more, or less, european? both, without doubt. ” it ’ s precisely because europe has been gradually built on the basis of a sincere and deepseated recognition of its cultural diversity that it aspires to be universal. its cultural unity does not mean confinement, introspection or isolation inside a cultural “ fortress ”. an integral part of its culture is its admiration and insatiable curiosity about the abundance of cultures beyond its shores. in the same text derrida also says : “ comment assumer une responsabilite contradictoire qui nous inscrit dans une sorte de double bind : se faire les gardiens d ’ une idee de l ’ europe, d ’ une difference de l ’ europe qui consiste precisement a ne pas se fermer sur sa propre identite et a s ’ avancer exemplairement vers ce qui n ’ est pas elle, vers l ’ autre cap ( … ) ”. to put it in english : “ we need to accept a conflicting responsibility which puts us in a kind of double bind : to become the guardians of a concept of europe and of europe ’ s distinctiveness, which consists not of closing oneself to one ’ s own identity but of moving in an exemplary way towards precisely what is not one ’ s own identity, towards the ‘ other cape ’. ” europe ’ s deep aspiration to universality is expressed in a particularly ambitious way by husserl in the same lecture in vienna that i mentioned earlier. he talked about “ a spirit of free criticism … of creating new, infinite ideals … ”, and he added that “ … there are some ideals that exist for individuals in their nations, and other ideals for the nations themselves. but, ultimately, there are also infinite ideals for the spreading “ synthesis ” of nations, and in that synthesis each of these nations gives its best to its partner nations precisely by aiming for its own ideal task in a universal spirit ”. 8 is it not remarkable that, at a global level, unesco refers to cultural diversity using words similar to those used by the european union itself to promote its cultural diversity? let us compare the two texts. jacques derrida, “ l ’ autre cap ”, liber, revue europeenne des livres 1990. raison d ’ agir editions. the german original reads as

as the only truth. finally, i would like to look at the medium of film. in line with the european focus of the last cultural days, we showed lars von trier ’ s internationally award - winning 1991 film “ europa ”. von trier is one of the best - known film - makers of the modern age. his most important sources of inspiration include literature and classics of european and american cinema history. he has a fascination for the dark and mysterious moods which mark the stories of franz kafka and joseph conrad, both of whom inform his “ europa ” in a very tangible way : the basic idea for the film was based on kafka ’ s fragment “ america “ ( 1911 - 14 ) and conrad ’ s “ heart of darkness ” ( 1899 ). in particular his early works – to which “ europa ” belongs – are clearly influenced by german expressionist film of the 1920s, italian neo - realism of the 1940s and the contemporaneous “ film noir ” which emerged in the united states. thus, in “ europa ”, von trier ’ s images and stylistic renderings allude to the main representatives of these decades : fritz lang, alfred hitchcock and roberto rossellini. of course, there are many other revealing interrelationships within european culture to be discovered in our rich treasure trove of art exhibitions and cultural days programmes. we will remain committed to promoting cultural exchanges within europe in the future and greatly look forward to the insights and experiences which the romanian cultural days later this year will bring. v. the aspiration of european culture to universality have we exhausted the deep significance and the rich cultural identity of europe once we have identified its sources and got the measure of its remarkable diversity, with its tight weave of influences, of relationships and of mutual admiration extending beyond national frontiers and linguistic barriers? doesn ’ t european culture have another fundamental characteristic that makes it unique among the world ’ s cultures? jacques derrida, the french philosopher, phrases the question this way in “ l ’ autre cap ” 7 : “ on peut aimer a se rappeler qu ’ on est un intellectuel europeen sans vouloir l ’ etre de part en part. se sentir europeen entre autres choses, est - ce etre plus ou moins europeen? les deux sans doute ( … ). ”. in other words, “ it ’ s nice to remind yourself that you are a european intellectual without wanting to be it