By Thea Pieridou
Press Officer at the European Parliament Office in Cyprus
74 years have passed since the countries of Europe, on the ashes of the Second World War, joined forces with a common vision to create a great family of nations, which would work together for a common, peaceful future, based on common principles and values. Europe Day, May 9, gives us the opportunity to celebrate cooperation, peace, solidarity, unity and the common principles and values that unite us in Europe. This date marks the anniversary of the historic 'Schuman Declaration’, which was the starting point of our path towards the European Union.
With this Declaration, Robert Schumann, Foreign Minister of France in 1950, laid the foundations of the European Coal and Steel Community. In an attempt to heal the wounds of the Second World War, six countries (France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) then decided to proceed with the strengthening of their economic cooperation and the joint management of coal and steel, i.e. of the energy and raw materials required to manufacture war material, meant that a new war was practically impossible between these states. The gradual upgrading of supranational European institutions such as the European Parliament led to today's European Union and thus continues the guarantee of the many and invaluable benefits that European citizens enjoy today.
Robert Schuman: " Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity." This year's celebration of Europe Day, exactly one month before the European elections, makes its symbolism more important than ever. The upcoming European elections are a unique opportunity for voters to determine the political form and direction our Union will have for the next five years. MEPs will approve legislation that will directly affect all European citizens, to improve our daily lives and for a better Europe.
This year's Europe Day also coincides with a very serious and worrying geopolitical situation in our eastern and southern neighbourhood, which reinforces the need for a united, peaceful Europe, with solidarity at the heart of all of us. We must always remember that the EU is a political project for peace and prosperity on our continent. And in order to overcome any test we will have to look back to the values on which the EU was founded, to the values of Robert Schumann, and really embrace these values.
