Europe Day
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Europe Day is a day celebrating "peace and unity in Europe"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> celebrated on 5 May by the Council of Europe and on 9 May by the European Union.
The first recognition of Europe Day was by the Council of Europe, introduced in 1964.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The European Union later started to celebrate its own European Day<ref name=Scicluna56>Nicole Scicluna, European Union Constitutionalism in Crisis, Routledge (2014), p. 56</ref> in commemoration of the 1950 Schuman Declaration which first proposed the European Coal and Steel Community, leading it to be referred to by some as "Schuman Day" or "Day of the united Europe".<ref>Does the EU have a "National" Day? Template:Webarchive, European Commission Delegation to Ukraine.</ref> Both days are celebrated by displaying the flag of Europe.<ref>Due to the objection against adopting symbols of statehood, the 1985 adoption of the "European flag" had only been possible by avoiding the official use of the term "flag", so that the "European flag" is still officially "a logo or emblem eligible to be reproduced on rectangular pieces of fabric". (Scicluna, 2014, p. 56) The proposal to officially adopt it as the flag of the EU was made in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (2004) which however failed to be ratified. Instead, the Treaty of Lisbon (2007) includes an annex signed by sixteen members which declares that the European flag, anthem, motto, currency, and Europe Day "will for them continue as symbols to express the sense of community of the people in the European Union and their allegiance to it."</ref>
History
The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949, and hence it chose that day for its celebrations when it established the holiday in 1964.<ref name="coe">Template:Cite web</ref>
The "Europe Day" of the EU was introduced in 1985 by the European Communities (the predecessor organisation of the EU).<ref>Template:Cite report</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref> The date commemorates the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950, put forward by Robert Schuman, which proposed the pooling of French, Italian and West German coal and steel industries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the first European Community, established on 18 April 1951.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A "raft of cultural icons" was launched by the European Commission in 1985, in reaction to the report by the ad hoc commission "for a People's Europe" chaired by Pietro Adonnino. The aim was to facilitate European integration by fostering a Pan-European identity among the populations of the EC member states. The European Council adopted "Europe Day" along with the flag of Europe and other items on 29 June 1985, in Milan.<ref name=Scicluna55>Nicole Scicluna, European Union Constitutionalism in Crisis, Routledge (2014), p. 55.</ref>
Following the foundation of the European Union in 1993, observance of Europe Day by national and regional authorities increased significantly. Germany in particular has gone beyond celebrating just the day, since 1995 extending the observance to an entire "Europe Week" (Template:Ill) centered on 9 May. In Poland, the Template:Ill, a Polish organisation advocating European integration established in 1991, first organised its Warsaw Template:Ill on Europe Day 1999, at the time advocating the accession of Poland to the EU.
Observance of 9 May as "Europe Day" was reported "across Europe" as of 2008.<ref>Lamming, R. (9 May 2008) Europe Day, but not in Britain Template:Webarchive, Federal Union</ref> In 2019, 9 May became an official public holiday in Luxembourg each year, to mark Europe Day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The EU's choice of the date of foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community rather than that of the EU itself established a narrative in which Schuman's speech, concerned with inducing economic growth and cementing peace between France and Germany, is presented as anticipating a "vocation of the European Union to be the main institutional framework" for the much further-reaching European integration of later decades.<ref>Scicluna (2014:56), citing F. Larat, "Present-ing the Past: Political Narratives on European History and the Justification of EU Integration", (PDF) German Law Journal 6.2 (2005), 274–290.</ref>
The European Constitution would have legally enshrined all the European symbols in the EU treaties; however, the treaty failed to be ratified in 2005, and usage would continue only in the present de facto manner. The Constitution's replacement, the Treaty of Lisbon, contains a declaration by sixteen members supporting the symbols.<ref name="lisbon-symbols-declaration">Template:Cite web</ref> The European Parliament "formally recognised" Europe Day in October 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web
"with the fate of the Lisbon Treaty still unclear, the European Parliament on Wednesday decided to officially recognise EU flag, anthem and motto as the symbols of the bloc's plenary. The anthem, based on the "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, will be performed at the opening ceremony following each European election and at formal sittings. The motto, 'United in diversity', will be reproduced on all Parliament's official documents, and the celebration of Europe Day on 9 May will be also formally recognised, says a report approved by 503 votes in favour 96 against and 15 abstentions. The symbols were first officially referred to by the European Constitution, a document rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005 and replaced by the Lisbon Treaty, which does not mention them."</ref>
Celebrations and commemorations
Open Doors Day
The EU institutions open their doors to the public every year in Brussels and Strasbourg, allowing citizens to visit these places. Moreover, many of these organize commemorative events to honor the historical importance of the date.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The bodies that choose to make this symbolic gesture are:
- European Parliament (EP)
- Council of the European Union
- European Commission (EC)
- European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
- The European Committee of the Regions (CoR)
In 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent inability to host physical events, the EU institutions organized virtual acts to pay tribute to all those Europeans who were collaborating in the fight against the pandemic. Furthermore, 2020 marked the 70th anniversary of the Schuman declaration and the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Given the occasion, the above-mentioned EU institutions launched several online events to commemorate the importance of the date.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Legal recognition
Europe Day is a public holiday for employees of European Union institutions.<ref>Template:Cite act</ref> In 2019, it was declared a public holiday in Luxembourg,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and is also a public holiday in Kosovo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is a "memorial day" in Croatia, which is a legally-recognised day, but is not a public holiday,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a legally-recognised commemorative day in Lithuania.<ref>Template:Cite act</ref> Europe Day in Germany and Austria is considered a flag day (Template:Langx),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> where flags are ordered to be shown by federal decree,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while in Finland, it is considered a customary flag flying day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Europe Day is also celebrated in Romania,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> where it coincides with the State Independence Day of Romania (Romania's independence day).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Between 2003 and 2023, Europe Day was celebrated in Ukraine on the third Saturday of May. On 8 May 2023, the President of Ukraine<ref>Decree of the President of Ukraine from 8 травня 2023 year № 266/2023 «Про День Європи» Template:In lang</ref> established a decree to celebrate Europe Day on May 9, coinciding with EU member states.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Symbols of the European Union
- Public holidays in the European Union
- Liberation Day
- Victory Day (9 May)
- Commonwealth Day
- United Nations Day
- Africa Day
- Mediterranean Day
References
External links
- The symbols of the EU – Europa
- The Inter institutions website publishing all organized activities during these celebrations.
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