Europe Day
held on 9 May every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe.
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.
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.
