“Beyond … differences and geographical boundaries there lies a common interest”. Throughout his career at the forefront of European diplomacy, Jean Monnet championed this core conviction, which helped lay the intellectual foundations of what was to become the European Union. His words were a call to action, which resonated with and inspired people in the aftermath of the second world war. But the message of collaboration and the cultivation of shared interests also speaks urgently to our own times. This newspaper deeply regretted the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the union which Monnet helped create. Brexit will have far-reaching economic consequences that are yet to play themselves out. But the Guardian remains passionately committed to the UK’s future as a European country, and to reporting the ideas, insights and preoccupations that shape the neighbourhood we share. To deepen that coverage, we have unveiled this week a new stream of our journalism. Occupying a dedicated digital space, “This is Europe” will give a new prominence and depth to the Guardian’s reporting across the region and in Brussels. We believe this is not only desirable but imperative at a time when huge challenges, from the rise of China to the future of the digital revolution to counter-terrorism, require a pan-European response.

These are troubled and difficult times. In an era of resurgent nationalism, Europe must again find a way to nurture and cultivate the virtues of solidarity and cooperation which inspired the EU’s formation. This week, a European climate law is due to be unveiled, designed to map out a path to a climate-neutral continent by 2050. A 50% cut in emissions is projected for 2030. But EU budget negotiations for the 2020s have stalled, suggesting that the necessary funding for an ambitious green deal may not be forthcoming. Meanwhile, throughout Europe, farmers are protesting at being asked disproportionately to carry the burden of transition. As Donald Trump’s America’s sticks to its intention to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, Europe’s – and Britain’s – leadership on the greatest crisis facing the world is vital. But the danger of the issue being hijacked by rightwing populist movements is real.

In Europe’s south-east, a new migration emergency is developing. Tens of thousands of refugees have massed on the Greek border this week, invited to do so by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Mr Erdoğan has said his country can no longer cope with the volume of refugees created by the Syrian conflict. But the EU, fearful of a resurgence of nativist populism, has still to come up with a working plan to accommodate asylum seekers across its member states.

Crises such as these concern us all. The launch of This is Europe is a statement of intent – far from shrinking its horizons after Brexit, the Guardian will seize this moment to reaffirm its European focus, identity and sensibility. But it is also a declaration of the obvious: from Bristol to Bordeaux to Brindisi, we inhabit a common European home that has been forged, for better and for worse, from the time of the Roman empire. The cross-currents of reciprocal cultural influence over centuries have made Europeans, and Britons, who they are. The Irishman Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France played a part in the history of British conservatism. Friedrich Engels famously studied capitalism at close quarters in Manchester. Europe’s great literature traces our connections in poetry and prose. In Dante’s Divine Comedy, published in the early 14th century, Francesca of Rimini and her lover Paolo are portrayed as succumbing to the sin of lust, after reading about Queen Guinevere’s tragic love affair with Lancelot in the Arthurian tales. A little more recently, Elena Ferrante’s remarkable portraits of female friendship, the Neapolitan novels, also captured the imagination of readers across Europe. They charmed through being both exquisitely local, while exploring a universal theme. The European public square is where we – and you, our readers – live and belong. The debates within it are more urgent than ever. We are committed to having them.