As you undoubtedly know, in a few days Europe is celebrating: May 9 each year is Europe Day, commemorating May 9, 1950 when French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman made a famous declaration announcing the creation of the European project.
Many of the elements of this declaration remain hotly relevant today: only a united, peaceful and united Europe can respond and make a contribution to the world’s great challenges, seventy years ago as today.
Well, yes, seventy years have already passed: the date of May 9, 2020 is therefore doubly significant because it marks the conclusion of a decade, at a time when the aforementioned global challenges are particularly evident.
We want to celebrate first by quoting a single sentence from the Schuman Declaration, one of many particularly significant ones from his very short but historic speech:
“Europe will not be able to be made at once, nor will it be built all at once; it will arise from concrete achievements that first create de facto solidarity.”
Robert Schuman
The situation in Europe and around the world, characterized by the impact of the coronavirus on our lives and countries, does not lend itself to massive celebrations this year.
However, the European institutions want to dedicate this day to the contribution of so many European citizens in combating the emergency through a series of passionate testimonies. A de facto solidarity, a Europe built little by little, under difficult conditions and through concrete achievements: what better way to celebrate, today, the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration?
But the testimonies and concrete initiatives do not stop there.
The website of the European Commission’s Representation in Italy devotes ample space to the European Union’s initiatives to combat the coronavirus, with special attention to what has been done for our territory.
The site is not among the sources we have mentioned so far(1 | 2 | 3 | 4), but it has a news section updated daily with information concerning (among other things) the fight against Covid-19 in our country. We can revisit here some of the points analyzed in our most recent interventions directly devoted to this topic(1 | 2).
On the occasion of Europe Day, EU institutions in Italy and MEPs review with students the milestones in the history of the European Union and the work of EU institutions: closer to citizens than is commonly believed. The event, titled “Europe Day. Schools of Italy, Pathways of Europe.” is hosted by Skuola.Net ‘s digital platform on tomorrow, May 7, at 11 a.m.
The following day (Friday, May 8 at 11:30 a.m.), the EuropeDirect Center in Turin will instead offer a talk entitled “Recovery Europe – no one can do it alone,” organized via Webex in collaboration with theUniversity of Turin.
Speakers include Massimo Gaudina (head of the European Commission Representation in Milan), Maurizio Molinari (head of the European Parliament Representation in Milan) and Marco Zatterin (deputy editor of La Stampa).
The event is organized as part of a recently launched review entitled “ Words to understand Europe “: you can consult EuropeDirect Turin ‘s website for further appointments and updates.
Massimo Gaudina’s talk on EU response to coronavirus and related slides is already available online.
Happy Europe Day to all in solidarity and deepening!
