Europe Day 2012 - 62nd anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, Parijs

Notre Dame in Parijs
datum 9 mei 2012
plaats Parijs, Kirchberg, Frankrijk, Luxemburg
locatie Robert Schuman (SCH) i Toon locatie
aanwezigen R. (Robert) Schuman i, W. (Werner) Faymann i e.a.
organisatie Europese Commissie (EC) i

The news:

On 9 May 2012 Europe will celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the Schuman Declaration.

The background:

Sixty-two years ago, on 9 May 1950, the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman made the first move towards the creation of what we now know as the European Union. He read a declaration to the international press in Paris, calling on France, Germany and other European countries to pool their coal and steel production as "the first concrete foundation of a European federation". It is remarkable that only five years after the end of the most dreadful conflict in Europe, the Second World War, he proposed the creation of a supranational European institution, to take charge of the coal and steel industry, the very sector which had made the war possible. The countries which he called upon had almost destroyed each other, and reconciliation was a brave thing to imagine at that time.

9 May became Europe Day in 1985, with many public manifestations in Member States to celebrate European achievements.

The events:

Members of the Commission will take part in events across Europe:

President Barroso and Commissioners Oettinger and Andor will participate in the 15th WDR Europaforum, a high-level conference of European leaders and media representatives which this year is held in the European Parliament in Brussels, in cooperation with the European Parliament, the European Commission and other partners.

President Barroso, Vice-President Rehn and Commissioner Barnier will attend the "State of the Union" second annual conference for high-level reflection on the EU, organised by the European University Institute in Florence.

Video messages by High Representative / Vice-President Ashton and Commissioner Füle recorded for delegations will be posted on their websites and used for the local events.

On the occasion of Europe Day Vice-President Reding will launch the broadest ever public consultation in the history of the European Union so that EU citizens can express views on their rights and future visions of Europe. A video message and a press release will be published on the day.

Vice-President Kallas will attend the Europe Day ceremony at the Brussels Town Hall.

Vice-President Kroes will deliver a speech at Europeana Awareness Event “Culture for Digital Innovation  (Concert Noble).

Vice-President Tajani will celebrate Europe Day in Rome where he will attend the event "Restart Europe focusing on creativity and entrepreneurial spirit" at the LUISS Guido Carli University. He will deliver a speech followed by a discussion with students on the ways in which new generations, through a more intense relationship between education, training and business, can contribute to growth and competitiveness in Europe.

Commissioner Vassiliou will take part in conference in Copenhagen, hosted by the Danish EU Presidency, to celebrate Europe Day and the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus student exchange and job placement programme.

Commissioner Georgieva will join Europe's Day celebrations in Sofia, Bulgaria. She will attend the opening of the "Days of European cinema" festival, which will show one film from each of the European Union's Member States with support from the European Commission's MEDIA Programme.

Commissioner Hahn will celebrate Europe Day in Austria, where he will hold a speech at the conference on Europe organised by the Austrian Bundesrat and the Region of Steiermark (Graz). He will also participate, together with the Federal Chancellor of Austria, Werner Faymann, in the Europe Day celebrations organised by the Commission Representation in Austria (Vienna).

Commissioner Malmström will visit her hometown Göteborg, Sweden, where she will deliver a speech to city employees about the importance of EU engagement at local level. She will also attend a public Europe Day event in the Göteborg city centre and meet students at Angered high school.

  • Footage from various events will be available on EbS

The sources:

President Barroso's website:

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/index_en.htm

"State of the Union" second annual conference for high-level reflection on the EU:

http://stateoftheunion.eui.eu/

The contacts:

Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen +32 2 295 3070 pia.ahrenkilde-hansen@ec.europa.eu


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Europese Commissie (EC)

Deze instelling van de Europese Unie kan worden beschouwd als het 'dagelijks bestuur' van de EU. De leden van de Europese Commissie worden 'Eurocommissarissen i' genoemd. Elke Eurocommissaris is verantwoordelijk voor één of meerdere beleidsgebieden. Momenteel zijn er 26 Eurocommissarissen. In principe is er voor iedere lidstaat één. Samen vormen zij het college van Eurocommissarissen. De Eurocommissarissen moeten het belang van de Europese Unie als geheel behartigen, niet dat van hun eigen land.

De Europese Commissie mag als enige EU-instelling wetsvoorstellen indienen; zij heeft het zogenaamde recht van initatief. Daarnaast controleert de Commissie of de Europese wetgeving juist wordt toegepast in de lidstaten, onderhandelt zij in internationale organisaties als de Wereldhandelsorganisatie (WTO) i over de handel van de Unie met het 'buitenland' en is zij verantwoordelijk voor het beheer van de Europese begroting van ongeveer 140 miljard euro per jaar.

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