EUROPE – “World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it. The contribution which an organised and living Europe can bring to civilisation is indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations.” Robert Schuman.
Robert Schuman, French minister of foreign affairs, has delivered a speech on 9th of May 1950, in which he suggested the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The aim of the Community was to be the foundation for economic development, but also to create conditions in which the war between Germany and France would not have been possible. Therefore, the cooperation between Italy, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.
The ultimate objective of the Community was to establish a common market, and in order to take further steps in its development, the six countries signed the Treaties of Rome. They have established the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community.
With the Treaty on European Union, signed in 1992, the European Economic Community became the European Community whose task was to establish a common market, and the economic and monetary union, as well. The Treaty extended areas in which common policies were implemented and established the Union citizenship for every citizen who has the nationality of a Member State.
When the Treaty of Lisbon was signed in 2007, the European Community ceased to exist, and the EU has become its successor.
It has been 67 years since the Schuman Declaration, and during that time the European Union has gone through several stages of institutional development, and it has created a single market, common foreign and security policy, but the single currency, as well.
With more than 500 million inhabitants, the EU today represents a strong economic force. However, it owes its success to the unity. If the EU remained fragmented, it would not have represented the largest economy in the world, the biggest exporter and importer, but also the world’s leading investor.
It is believed that the Schuman Declaration was the foundation for the creation of the European Union as it is today, which is the main reason why 9th of May is celebrated as the Europe Day.