» Europe has been a cradle for many cultural innovations and movements, such as Humanism, that have consequently been spread across the globe. The Renaissance of classical ideas influenced the development of art and literature far beyond the confines of the continent.

» One of the major problems in defining European culture, is where does Europe start and where does it end ? Most countries share common historical experiences, but several important fault lines appear. The first one is the dividing lands that were occupied at some point by the Roman Empire , thus dividing Europe along a line that goes through Hadrian's Wall in the British Isles, along the Rhine and finally along the Danube . Yet another fault line is the one that separates the lands once occupied by the Ottoman Empire and the ones that weren't, which created the current Christian-Islam fault line, that separates Albania , Bosnia  and Turkey . Also notable is the fault line that separates the parts of Europe that went through industrialization in the 19th century, including Northern Italy and Bohemia . And finally, the most recent fault line is the infamous Iron Curtain. These fault lines are key to understanding the cultural similarities and differences in Europe . Thus the question of "common culture" or "common values" is far more complex than it seems.

» Language  is a very important part of culture, and Europe has a widespread variety of languages, with most countries having at least one official language . Many regional languages  are also spoken, some enjoying a level of official status or recognition. Other minority languages  are also spoken. The diversity on such a small territory is proverbial. The European Union alone uses 20 official languages, which all have the same status.