On 9 May the European Institutions and people across Europe marked the anniversary of the first step in the creation of the European Union. Now known quite simply as ’Europe Day’, it was on 9 May 1950 that the French foreign minister Robert Schuman announced to the press that the production of coal and steel would be « placed under a common High Authority, within the framework of an organisation open to the participation of the other countries of Europe ». The main aim behind his proposal was to prevent another war between France and Germany and combining coal and steel production (the key resources for conducting a war) was considered the most important means of achieving this.

The proposal of 9 May 1950 led to the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1951 by six founding member countries, who established the ’European Coal and Steel Community’. 61 years, 21 countries and several treaties later, this community has evolved into what we now know as the ’European Union’. This year, the European Institutions celebrated the anniversary over the weekend with the ’Festival of Europe’ and opened their doors to give the public the opportunity to find out more about the work of the EU. As for the employees of the European Institutions, they were also given the opportunity to celebrate Europe Day.. with a well-deserved day off !

Photo:Flickr, erjkprunczyk