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Professor Bronisław Geremek was a Father Figure to Europe.

When we imagine a “green utopia”, an ideal world to live in, one thing is certain – that such a place is free of oppressive and restricting borders.

The idea of Europe becomes much more than simply an idea when people, overcoming the uncertainty – if not outright hostility – of states, act according to borderless solidarity.

The borders that criss-cross our maps, and the notions of national unity that they connote, belie the fact that within and across these neatly delineated units there are communities whose very existence is a challenge to this territorial division. The case of the Roma people, spread throughout Europe and beyond, is an apt illustration of this.

Confronted with the obscene images that have been reaching us ever since the influx of refugees entered new dimensions in the summer 2015, we may wonder: why is it that Germany behaves with much more dignity and efficiency than France, let alone the UK or Hungary?

Over the past year, Europe, besides the economic crisis, has had to face another big challenge: the largest refugee flow since the Second World War.

The political Left in Europe appears to have given up on trying to put forward a positive picture of migration.

Europe promotes migration and mobility, but new or ‘different’ Europeans are still stigmatised and marginalised in our societies.

The approach of European states to the surrounding waters has so far been inscribed in a logic of colonisation and conquering new territories in the name of national interest.

National borders are a reality – and for most people, they are something that is taken for granted and indeed necessary.