Countries are sooooo last year

According to the BBC, a "European commands space station".  They are referring to the news that a Belgian, Frank de Winne, has taken command of the International Space Station.

But why refer to him as a European rather than a Belgian?  Is the BBC trying to get ahead of the game for when the Lisbon Treaty changes the EU into a country?

De Winne has been sent to the space station by the European Space Agency and had this to say:

I have always been proud to be European and the Europeans of course have a big heritage as explorers; and so, therefore, for me, it is a big honour to be the first European to be a commander of the space station

Proud to be a European?  How can you be proud to be from a continent?  Countries have a history and culture and achievements to be proud of but a continent has nothing - it's a huge lump of dirt, it means nothing.  Then again, he's Belgian so that might explain why he has more pride for the continent his country is on rather than his country.  The most famous Belgians are a fictional detective with a dodgy mustache and a teenage cartoon detective with a dog which probably goes a long way to understanding why the Belgians have been the first to capitulate entirely to the European Empire.

There will be more of this when the Lisbon Treaty is ratified and the European Empire is turned into a country.  The EU has claimed the word "European" as its own and it'll be speaking on behalf of the entire continent, including those countries that have managed to keep their independence, on the international stage.  Sycophant media organisations like the EU-funded BBC will be using the word "European" more and more to refer to subjects of the European Empire.