Continentaw or mainwand Europe is de continuous continent of Europe excwuding its surrounding iswands. It can awso be referred to ambiguouswy as de European continent—which can conversewy mean de whowe of Europe—and by Europeans, simpwy de Continent.
The most common definition of continentaw Europe excwudes continentaw iswands, encompassing de Greek Iswands, Cyprus, Mawta, Siciwy, Sardinia, Corsica, de Bawearic Iswands, Irewand, Great Britain, de Iswe of Man, de Channew Iswands, Novaya Zemwya and de Danish archipewago, as weww as nearby oceanic iswands, incwuding de Canary Iswands, Madeira, de Azores, Icewand, de Faroe Iswands, and Svawbard.
The Scandinavian peninsuwa is sometimes awso excwuded, as even dough it is technicawwy part of "mainwand Europe", de de facto connections to de rest of de continent are across de Bawtic Sea or Norf Sea (rader dan via de wengdy wand route dat invowves travewwing to de norf of de peninsuwa where it meets Finwand, and den souf drough norf-east Europe).
The notion of Europe as a geopowiticaw or cuwturaw term is centred on core Europe (Kerneuropa), de continentaw territory of de historicaw Carowingian Empire and de core of Latin Christendom, corresponding to modern France, Itawy, Germany (or German-speaking Europe) and de Benewux states (historicaw Austrasia). This historicaw core of "Carowingian Europe" was consciouswy invoked in de 1950s as de historicaw edno-cuwturaw basis for de prospective European integration (see awso Muwti-speed Europe).
Great Britain and Irewand
In bof Great Britain and Irewand, de Continent is widewy and generawwy used to refer to de mainwand of Europe. An apocryphaw British newspaper headwine supposedwy once read, "Fog in Channew; Continent Cut Off". It has awso been cwaimed dat dis was a reguwar weader forecast in Britain in de 1930s. In addition, de word Europe itsewf is awso reguwarwy used to mean Europe excwuding de iswands of Great Britain, Icewand, and Irewand (awdough de term is often used to refer to de European Union). The term mainwand Europe is awso sometimes used.
Derivativewy, de adjective continentaw refers to de sociaw practices or fashion of continentaw Europe. Exampwes incwude breakfast, topwess sunbading and, historicawwy, wong-range driving (before Britain had motorways) often known as Grand Touring.. Differences incwude ewectricaw pwugs, time zones for de most part, de use of weft-hand traffic, and for de United Kingdom, currency and de continued use of imperiaw units awongside metric.
Britain is physicawwy connected to continentaw Europe drough de undersea Channew Tunnew (de wongest undersea tunnew in de worwd), which accommodates bof de Getwink (passenger and vehicwe use – vehicwe reqwired) and Eurostar (passenger use onwy) services. These services were estabwished to transport passengers and vehicwes drough de tunnew on a 24/7 basis between Engwand and continentaw Europe, whiwe stiww maintaining passport and immigration controw measures on bof sides of de tunnew. This route is popuwar wif refugees and migrants seeking to enter de UK.
The reason for dis is dat awdough de Scandinavian peninsuwa is attached to continentaw Europe, and accessibwe via a wand route awong de 66f parawwew norf, it is usuawwy reached by sea.
Kontinenten (de Continent) is a vernacuwar Swedish expression dat refers to de area excwuding Sweden, Norway, and Finwand but incwuding Denmark (even de Danish archipewago) and de rest of continentaw Europe. In Norway, simiwarwy, one speaks about Kontinentet as a separate entity, usuawwy referring to Germany, France, Itawy, Spain, Portugaw, de Benewux countries, and such.
Mediterranean and Atwantic iswands
The Continent may sometimes refer to de continentaw part of Itawy (excwuding Sardinia, Siciwy, etc.), de continentaw part of Spain (excwuding de Bawearic iswands, de Canary Iswands, Awboran, etc.), de continentaw part of France (excwuding Corsica, etc.), de continentaw part of Portugaw (excwuding de Madeira and Azores iswands), or de continentaw part of Greece (excwuding de Ionian Iswands, de Aegean Iswands, and Crete). The term is used from de perspective of de iswand residents of each country to describe de continentaw portion of deir country or de continent (or mainwand) as a whowe.
- Continentaw phiwosophy
- Geopowiticaw divisions of Europe
- Geographicaw midpoint of Europe
- Western Europe
- Hajnaw wine
- "Merriam Webster dictionary definition".
- Marc Trachtenberg, Between Empire and Awwiance: America and Europe During de Cowd War (2003), p 67. Adrian Hyde-Price, Germany and European Order: Enwarging NATO and de EU (2000), p. 128.
- Oakwey, Robin (Apriw 19, 2005). "Europe no star as ewection issue". CNN. Retrieved Apriw 30, 2010.
- Fog in Channew? (book)
- Fraser, Dougwas (August 15, 2011). "Britain pushes hard choices for Europe's hard core". BBC News.