9th of May - Europe Day

On 9 May, Europe celebrated tthe 64th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration.

Sixty-four years ago, on the 9th May 1950, the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman made the first move towards the creation of what we now know as the European Union. He read a declaration to the international press in Paris, calling on France, Germany and other European countries to pool their coal and steel production as "the first concrete foundation of a European federation". It is remarkable that only five yearas after the end of the most dreadful conflict in Europe, the Second World War, he proposed the creation of a supranational European institution, to take charge of the coal and steel industry, the very sector which had made the war possible. The countries which he called upon had almost destroyed each other, and reconciliation was a brave thing to imagine at that time.

9th May became Europe Day in 1985, with many public manifestations in Member States to celebrate European achievements.

Read more about Europe Day:

• Newsroom: Europe Day: open doors
• The Schuman Declaration
• Wikipedia
• Europe Day - Open Doors
• Europe Day activities across Europe