View source for Europe Day

{{short description|Annual observance by the European Union}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox holiday
| image        = Big european flag at Strasbourg (France) - Europe Day 2009.jpg
| caption      = [[European Flag]] displayed in [[Strasbourg]] ([[France]]) during Europe Day 2009
| holiday_name = Europe Day
| significance = [[European integration]]
| observedby   = {{Tree list}}
*{{flag|Council of Europe}}
*{{flag|European Union}}
**{{flag|Luxembourg}}
*{{flag|Kosovo}}
*{{flag|Ukraine}} (since 2024)
{{Tree list/end}}
| longtype     = [[Pan-European identity|Pan-European]]; cultural and historical
| scheduling   = two dates
| duration     = 1 day
| frequency    = Annual
| date         = 5 and 9 May
}}

'''Europe Day''' is [[list of minor secular observances#May|a day]] celebrating "peace and unity in Europe"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Europe Day|url=https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/europe-day_en|date=16 June 2016|website=European Union|language=en|access-date=8 May 2020|archive-date=1 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701182840/https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/europe-day_en|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Día de Europa: ¿Cuándo y por qué se celebra?|url=https://okdiario.com/curiosidades/dia-europa-cuando-que-celebra-2384530|date=5 June 2018|website=okdiario.com|language=es|access-date=8 May 2020|trans-title=Europe Day: When and why is it celebrated?}}</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>{{Cite web|url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/full-news/-/asset_publisher/Dgh51iCGvfbg/content/europe-d-1|title=5 May: Europe Day|website=www.coe.int}}</ref> The European Union later started to celebrate its own European Day<ref name=Scicluna56>Nicole Scicluna, ''European Union Constitutionalism in Crisis'', Routledge (2014), [https://books.google.com/books?id=AYbZBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA56 p. 56]</ref> in [[memorialization|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>[http://www.delukr.ec.europa.eu/page6860.html Does the EU have a "National" Day?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504152513/http://www.delukr.ec.europa.eu/page6860.html |date=4 May 2009 }}, 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==
[[File:Parada Schumana 2.JPG|alt=People marching behind a banner in a parade|right|thumb|A Europe Day parade in [[Warsaw]], Poland.]]
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">{{Cite web|title=5 May – Europe Day|url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/5-may-europe-day|website=www.coe.int|language=en-GB|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref>

The "Europe Day" of the EU was introduced in 1985 by the [[European Communities]] (the predecessor organisation of the EU).<ref>{{Cite report|url=http://hdl.handle.net/10234/49877|title=A people's Europe. Supplement 7/85 Bulletin of the European Communities|date=1985|publisher=Office for Official Publications of the European Communities|issue=7/85|hdl=10234/49877|isbn=92-825-5637-9|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report|url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/20646/1985_june_-_milan__eng_.pdf|title=Conclusions of the European Council in Milan, 28-29 June 1985|date=29 June 1985|issue=2740/1/85|access-date=8 May 2020|publisher=European Council}}</ref> The date commemorates the [[Schuman Declaration]] of 9 May 1950, put forward by [[Robert Schuman]], which proposed the pooling of [[French Fourth Republic|French]], [[Italy|Italian]] and [[West Germany|West German]] [[coal]] and [[steel]] industries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Schuman Declaration – 9 May 1950|url=https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/europe-day/schuman-declaration_en|last=Anonymous|date=16 June 2016|website=European Union|language=en|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref> This led to the creation of the [[European Coal and Steel Community]], the first European Community, established on 18 April 1951.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The European Communities|url=https://www.cvce.eu/en/obj/the_european_communities-en-3940ef1d-7c10-4d0f-97fc-0cf1e86a32d4.html|date=7 August 2016|website=CVCE.EU by UNI.LU|language=en|access-date=8 May 2020}}</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), [https://books.google.com/books?id=AYbZBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 p. 55].</ref>

[[File:Europe_Day_Street_Fair.jpg|thumb|right|Europe Day festivities in [[Yerevan]], Armenia.]]
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" (''{{ill|Europawoche|de}}'') centered on 9 May. In Poland, the {{ill|Schuman Foundation|pl|Polska Fundacja im. Roberta Schumana}}, a Polish organisation advocating European integration established in 1991, first organised its Warsaw ''{{ill|Schuman Parade|pl|Parada Schumana}}'' on Europe Day 1999, at the time advocating the [[2004 enlargement of the European Union|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) [https://federalunion.org.uk/europe-day-but-not-in-britain/ Europe Day, but not in Britain] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504095245/http://www.federalunion.org.uk/blog/2008/05/europe-day-but-not-in-britain.html |date=4 May 2009 }}, [[Federal Union]]</ref> In 2019, 9 May became an official public holiday in Luxembourg each year, to mark Europe Day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://delano.lu/d/detail/news/europe-day-extra-vacation-day-passed-mps/204472|title=Europe Day, extra vacation day passed by MPs – Delano – Luxembourg in English|date=27 March 2019|website=Delano|language=fr|access-date=10 April 2019}}</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, "[https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/4A870A4622DC2F5CA743CCC76D2EBDC9/S2071832200013638a.pdf/presenting_the_past_political_narratives_on_european_history_and_the_justification_of_eu_integration.pdf 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 [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe|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">{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:306:0231:0271:EN:PDF|title=Official Journal of the European Union, 2007 C 306-2 , p. 267|access-date=29 October 2014}}</ref> The [[European Parliament]] "formally recognised" Europe Day in October 2008.<ref>{{cite web|first=Lucia|last=Kubosova|title=No prolonged mandate for Barroso, MEPs warn|publisher=[[EU Observer]]|date=9 October 2008|url=http://euobserver.com/9/26899|access-date=9 October 2008}}

"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>{{Cite web|last=Anonymous|date=16 June 2016|title=Europe Day|url=https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/europe-day_en|access-date=16 April 2021|website=European Union|language=en|archive-date=1 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701182840/https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/europe-day_en|url-status=dead}}</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)
* [[European Committee of the Regions|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>{{Cite web|last=Anonymous|date=16 June 2016|title=Europe Day|url=https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/europe-day_en|access-date=16 April 2021|website=European Union|language=en|archive-date=1 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701182840/https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/europe-day_en|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=PRZYBYLSKI|first=Piotr|date=14 March 2017|title=Europe Day 2020|url=https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/archived-europe-day_en|access-date=16 April 2021|website=European Union|language=en}}</ref>

==Legal recognition==
Europe Day is a [[Public holidays in the European Union|public holiday]] for employees of European Union institutions.<ref>{{Cite act|type=Commission Decision|index=2019/C 38/05|date=28 January 2019|article=1|legislature=European Commission|title=On public holidays for 2020 for the institutions of the European Union|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1576842699712&uri=CELEX:32019D0131(01)}}</ref> In 2019, it was declared a [[public holidays in Luxembourg|public holiday in Luxembourg]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Brenton|first=Hannah|date=27 March 2019|title=MPs make it official: two extra days holiday this year|work=Luxembourg Times|url=https://luxtimes.lu/luxembourg/36883-mps-make-it-official-two-extra-days-holiday-this-year|access-date=8 May 2020|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805045539/https://luxtimes.lu/luxembourg/36883-mps-make-it-official-two-extra-days-holiday-this-year|url-status=dead}}</ref> and is also a public holiday in [[Public holidays in Kosovo|Kosovo]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Festat Zyrtare – State Portal of the Republic of Kosovo|url=https://www.rks-gov.net/EN/f191/publications/festat-zyrtare|website=www.rks-gov.net|language=sq|access-date=8 May 2020|archive-date=27 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127201422/https://www.rks-gov.net/EN/f191/publications/festat-zyrtare|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is a "memorial day" in [[Croatia]], which is a legally-recognised day, but is not a public holiday,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Public Holidays in Croatia 2020 & Memorial Days|url=https://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/events-croatia/public-holidays-croatia/|website=Visit Croatia|language=en-GB|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Government of the Republic of Croatia – PM: New calendar of public holidays, memorial days will clear doubts, vagueness|url=https://vlada.gov.hr/news/pm-new-calendar-of-public-holidays-memorial-days-will-clear-doubts-vagueness/27969|website=vlada.gov.hr|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref>  and a legally-recognised commemorative day in [[Lithuania]].<ref>{{Cite act|type=|index=0971010ISTAVIII-397|date=1 January 2020|article=1(24)|legislature=[[Seimas]]|title=ATMINTINŲ DIENŲ ĮSTATYMAS|trans-title=Memorial Days – The Law|url=https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.D570962773F8/aIWssakJKi|language=Lithuanian}}</ref>  Europe Day in [[Germany]] and [[Austria]] is considered a [[Flag Day|flag day]] ({{langx|de|Beflaggungstag}}),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-05 |title=Beflaggung am 9. Mai 2025 (Europatag) |url=https://www.protokoll-inland.de/SharedDocs/kurzmeldungen/Webs/PI/DE/beflaggung/europatag-9ter-mai/beflaggung_europatag-2025.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=Protokoll Inland der Bundesregierung |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Diem |first=Peter |title=Fahnen- und Flaggenordnung |url=https://austria-forum.org/af/Wissenssammlungen/Symbole/Fahnen-_und_Flaggenordnung |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=Austria-Forum |language=de}}</ref> where flags are ordered to be shown by federal decree,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Regelmäßige allgemeine Beflaggungstage|url=http://www.protokoll-inland.de/Webs/PI/DE/beflaggung/beflaggungstage/regelmaessige/regelmaessige-allgemeine-beflaggungstage-node.html;jsessionid=B452B28D57BB2A06577DA8CE0F4C7C49.2_cid364|website=Protokoll Inland der Bundesregierung|language=de|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref> while in [[Finland]], it is considered a [[Flag flying days in Finland|customary flag flying day]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liputus EU-lipulla |url=https://intermin.fi/suomen-lippu/liputus-eu-lipulla |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207103528/https://intermin.fi/suomen-lippu/liputus-eu-lipulla |archive-date=7 February 2023 |access-date=28 January 2023 |website=Sisäministeriö}}</ref> Europe Day is also celebrated in [[Romania]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/actualitate/ziua-europei-2021-ce-evenimente-au-loc-in-al-doilea-an-al-pandemiei-1522237|title=Ziua Europei 2021. Ce evenimente au loc în al doilea an al pandemiei|first=Luana|last=Pavaluca|newspaper=[[Digi24]]|date=9 May 2021|language=ro}}</ref> where it coincides with the State Independence Day of Romania (Romania's [[independence day]]).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mediafax.ro/social/9-mai-ziua-europei-si-ziua-independentei-de-stat-a-romaniei-20070822|title=9 Mai – Ziua Europei și Ziua Independenței de Stat a României|first=Laura|last=Buciu|newspaper=[[Mediafax]]|date=9 May 2021|language=ro}}</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 №&nbsp;266/2023 [https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/2662023-46697 «Про День Європи»] {{in lang|uk}}</ref> established a decree to celebrate Europe Day on May 9, coinciding with [[Member state of the European Union|EU member states]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=President's Decree declares May 9 as Europe Day in Ukraine |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3706199-presidents-decree-declares-may-9-as-europe-day-in-ukraine.html |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=www.ukrinform.net |date=8 May 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Service |first=RFE/RL's Ukrainian |title=Zelenskiy Declares May 9 'Europe Day' Ahead Of Russia's World War II Anniversary |website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-military-russia-drone-attacks-anniversary/32401350.html |accessdate=2023-05-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mueller |first=Julia |date=2023-05-08 |title=Ukraine will now celebrate 'Europe Day' on Russia's 'Victory Day' |url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/3993959-ukraine-will-now-celebrate-europe-day-on-russias-victory-day/ |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=EU on Ukraine's decision to celebrate Europe Day on 9 May: "Reflection of the European identity of the Ukrainian people" |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/05/8/7401246/ |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en}}</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]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/index_en.htm The symbols of the EU] – [[Europa (web portal)|Europa]]
** [http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/9-may/index_en.htm Europe Day, 9 May] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091221155238/http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/9-may/index_en.htm |date=21 December 2009 }}
** [http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/9-may/decl_en.htm Declaration of 9 May 1950]
* [http://europeday.europa.eu The Inter institutions website publishing all organized activities during these celebrations.]
{{EU symbols}}
{{European Union topics}}
{{Europe_topics_(small)|state=collapsed}}

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[[Category:Council of Europe|Day]]
[[Category:Symbols of the European Union|Day]]
[[Category:May observances]]
[[Category:International organization days]]
[[Category:1964 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Recurring events disestablished in 1964]]
[[Category:1985 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:European integration| ]]
[[Category:Pan-Europeanism]]
[[Category:German flag flying days]]