Europe Day: History and celebration activities
(VNF) - Today, May 9, is the Europe Day, a significant occasion celebrating peace and unity in Europe.
May 9 is the anniversary of Schuman Declaration (source: Pin Interest)
History of the Europe Day
The date marks the anniversary of the historical 'Schuman declaration'. At a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe's nations unthinkable.
The Schuman declaration was a speech given on 9 May 1950 by then-French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, which set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe.
His idea was to create a European institution to manage coal and steel production and a treaty was signed later that year.
The Schuman declaration is said to be the start of what is today the European Union.
His vision was to create a European institution that would pool and manage coal and steel production. A treaty creating such a body was signed just under a year later. Schuman's proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.
Since it is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union, the 9th of May is the birthday of European Union.
The decision to celebrate Europe Day was made in 1985 in Milan (Italy) on the summit conference of European Union.
Today, the 9th of May has become a European symbol (Europe Day). This is a day, which gives all Europeans the possibility through different events to emphasise unity and to value all what unified Europe has given to its citizens.
Celebration in Europe
Events big and small are taking place all around Europe.
Everyone is invited to join the thousands of activities taking place across Europe.
There are an estimated number of 10,150 events held in 36 countries and participated by 5000,000 people.
Specially, the Europe Day is marked with many opportunities for people to discover how the European institutions work, what their priorities are and how they affect the lives of Europeans.
Earlier, on May 5, to celebrate the Europe Day, the headquarter of the European Commission, Berlaymont building, in Brussels (Belgium) opened their doors to the public for the annual Open Day.
Throughout the day, visitors stepped inside the institutions’ buildings to take part in special activities. For instance, they had chance to talk directly with personalities of the European Commission in a series of mini citizen's dialogues in the Schuman room. Over 150 European civil servants were on site to offer visitors time to chat, play, explain, and share personal experiences about European policies.
The tour also included visit to various important venues in the building, such as the 13th floor where the President and the college of Commissioners meet every Wednesday, famous press room of the Berlaymont where will be broadcasted all day long videos about EU best success and achievements.
During the tour, visitors were also given the chance to gain more insights of EU through various activities, including making a virtual tour through iconic protected sites, learning about EU Careers and how the 24 EU languages matter, trying healthy European quality products, voting on how the EU budget should be spent in the future, watching video clips of films that explain how the EU is present in our everyday life.
On the same day, in Luxembourg, European institutions also opened their doors to the public for one day this month.
The European Investment Bank and the European Court of Justice let the public step in to their buildings in celebration of Europe Day.
As the judicial body of the EU, the role of the European Court of Justice is to ensure EU laws are respected and applied in the same way by the EU institutions and the member states.
The guided tour of building allowed people to find out about its history, its importance to EU citizens' everyday lives and the way it functions.
Visitors were welcomed to enter the court itself as well as the court registry.
The ECJ golden towers (Photo: Roman Schanck)
This year, the European Investment Bank (EIB) celebrates its 60th anniversary. On May 5, it allowed visitors to explore its original building, the 'west wing', as well as the dome-shaped glass building.
The EIB is the bank of the European Union and is the only bank owned by and representing the interests of EU member states. It provides finance for sustainable investment projects which contribute to EU policy objectives.
European Investment Bank (EIB) glass 'east' building (Photo: Guy Jallay)
The bank invests in projects around the world but more than 90% of its activity is in Europe.
In Luxembourg the EIB employs around 2,500 employees.
Especially, as 2018 is the European year of cultural heritage, in May, a series of initiatives and events have been held across Europe to enable people to become closer to and more involved with their cultural heritage.
For instance, it is the 'Fête de l'Europe'. On 9 May a 'European village' will be set up on Place d'Armes in Luxembourg city where the European Parliament, European Commission and the European Court of Auditors will have an information stand.
On May 9th, Liveurope will host the fourth edition of Europe Day at Ancienne Belgique to proudly celebrate European music, putting a spotlight on the new sound of London jazz and reveling in the musical connections between Britain and Brussels. An afternoon of panels from 16h30 to 19h00 and an evening concert from 20h00 will focus attention towards another part of the Europe’s and the UK’s connection: music.
In Estonia, the open-air festivities of the Europe Day are held on the 9th of May from 2 P.M until 8 P.M. Events include music, plays, singing and dancing, quizzes and games with different prizes are held.
In Scotland, Europe Day will be marked in Glasgow with 15 countries running stalls to promote their language, country and culture. They will also showcase their cultures through music and dance acts.
Celebrations across the continent tomorrow are expected to include mini European markets and events to help people feel closer to their heritage - all celebrations are organised by EU delegates./.
( Phi Yen )