
Originally Posted by
Maciamo
Talking of Australia, the Lonely Planet Guide Book divides Europe the same way as I do. They have guidebooks for Western Europe (as far East as Germany), Eastern Europe (the former Communist block) and Central Europe (as I mentioned above). This just shows that geographical regions are not exclusive of each others. Germany is both Western and Central. Hungary is both Eastern and Central. France is both Northern and Southern (Mediterranean). France, the Benelux and Britain are Western, but also Northern. Scandinavia and Finland are just Northern (rather Central or Eastern, but never considered as such).
It is all a matter of feeling and benchmark. Within the EU 15, Belgium was considered the "centre of Europe", because the geographical centre of the EU 15 was at the Belgo-French border and Brussels is the EU capital. Now with the EU 25 (or 27), the geographical centre is in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. If we consider all Europe, including Russia as far as the Ural, the geographic centre of Europe is in Lithuania ! Naturally, if we take the latter as a reference, Poland is in Western and Southen Europe, which sounds like a nonesense.