But Lisbon is no panacea to Europe's current identity crisis. Europeans must also learn to live together.

A recent EU-wide survey revealed disturbing findings in the level of discrimination that minorities face in their everyday lives. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) released the results of a Gallup poll that surveyed over 23,000 EU citizens from ethnic minority and immigrant groups about their experiences with discrimination across nine areas of their everyday lives: seeking employment and housing, medical care, social services, education, shopping, and opening a bank account or obtaining a loan. 

The results were alarming: 11 percent of the respondents of North African origin reported experiencing ethnicity-based discrimination in the past 12 months when simply entering a shop, while another 19 percent felt they were stopped by the police because of their ethnicity. Seventeen percent of Roma surveyed indicated that healthcare personnel had discriminated against them, and almost a quarter of Sub-Saharan Africans felt they were discriminated against at least once when applying for a job. 

Given these figures, one can easily imagine the potential for discrimination against a person with a multiple minority makeup. It begs the question: Does a dark-skinned Muslim woman, for instance, have any place in today's Europe?

Moreover, the survey indicated that about 46 percent of respondents were unaware of their rights with regard to discrimination in shops, restaurants, bars or nightclubs; while 63 percent had never heard of "equality bodies," public institutions that receive complaints of discrimination in their respective countries. The overwhelming majority of respondents were unaware of any organization offering support and advice for minorities dealing with discrimination. Finally, 82 percent of those who felt they were discriminated against did not report their most recent experience to an authority or an organization. 

These statistics reveal serious challenges. First, they draw attention to a severe lack of awareness of civil rights and of society's responsibility toward minorities. Minority groups, as much as service providers (including hospitals, schools, police, employers, landlords and business owners), must be fully aware of the provisions of the ECFR and of the related regulatory bodies. The FRA, individual EU member states, the Council of Europe - an inter-governmental organization working toward European integration - and European civil society can play a key role in sensitizing targeted audiences - including journalists - about these legal aspects.

The next challenge, which reflects the contemporary identity crisis of citizens in Europe, is more acute. The Europe of the 21st century is indisputably diverse, yet the EU-wide survey demonstrated that many Europeans are not fully appreciative of diversity. The latest controversy over Switzerland's vote banning the construction of minarets, or the highly polarized and politicized debates over the meaning of national identity in France, are illustrations of this difficulty. 

Is there a way out of this European identity crisis? The answer is yes. Efforts to resolve it should start with the education, media and entertainment industries - the arenas that shape people's attitudes and beliefs. 

Mainstream political parties must also urge Europeans to invest in diversity-sensitive curricula for schoolchildren across Europe. Moreover, news teams' composition (including broadcasters, editors and producers) must better reflect the reality of ethnic and racial diversity in European society. Finally, the European entertainment industry should adopt a corporate social responsibility charter and produce films and television series that are not only entertaining and popular but which also transform attitudes and behaviors to foster tolerance among people.