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Geographically Europe ambles from Iceland to Greece, and Portugal to the Ural Mountains with Moscow well within its boundaries.
We can group the countries of Europe at a range of scales based on their location i.e. Scandanavian, Western, Eastern or Southern Europe - and as the scale reduces we can consider the British Isles, Lowland Countries, Balkan states, Baltic states, mediterranean states etc.

However this is purely geographic and pays little attention to actual European culture. Arguably beyond Europe being a continent it is an idea, one which has been contested through feudalism, christiandom, the european empires and some of their ambitions to create a unified continent, but one that today is increasingly shaped by the European Union. With expansion in 2004 and the spread of a common currency that partnership embraces landscapes and cultures more disparate than at any time in its history. Today the dividing line of Europe is no longer the iron curtain - but instead the EU border, defining those that are in and out.

With a 25-member bloc and 457 million people more countries are keen to join, but rapid expansion has raised questions over cultural, ethnic and religous identity. Could expansion dilute the idea and meaning of Europe?
So, although geographically Europe is easy to define, culturally this is not the case and the meaning of Europe is constantly being reviewed and changed.

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