"EUROPE DAY" CELEBRATION ON 9 MAY

The "Europe Day" on 9 May marks the anniversary of the 'Schuman Declaration', the pivotal moment that led to the creation of what is today the European Union. On 9 May 1950 In Paris  against the background of the threat of a Third World War engulfing the whole of Europe, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read to the international press a declaration calling France, Germany and other European countries to pool together their coal and steel production as "the first concrete foundation of a European federation". What he proposed was the creation of a supranational European Institution, charged with the management of the coal and steel industry, the very sector which was, at that time, the basis of all military power. Everything, therefore, began that day. That is why during the Milan Summit of EU leaders in 1985 it was decided to celebrate 9 May as "Europe Day".