Guardian - During my holidays I saw a vivid illustration of how the divisions that once plagued Europe can be healed. As I cycled across the border between Austria and Slovakia, not only did nobody ask to see my passport, I noted that the booths set up for inspecting travel documents have been entirely abandoned. There was something eerie about how the wind makes their shabby curtains flap even on a mild day, but it is nonetheless a welcome contrast to the fabled iron curtain that separated the two countries less than 20 years ago. How depressing it was, then, to return to Brussels and immediately be confronted with proof that some of the deepest tensions between east and west have not abated.

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