Comment du Jour

12 May

Europe Day!!

Europe Day was celebrated in New York with a Gala reception at the legendary New York Public Library. Ambassador Pedro Serrano, acting head of the EU's United Nations delegation, hosted the event which brought together delegates, Consuls, and friends for the annual celebration of Europe.

On 9 May 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presented the proposal to create the European Coal and Steel Community, the economic forerunner to the Common Market and later the European Community. In the wake of WWII which ended five years earlier, the integration was seen as indispensable to maintaiing peaceful relations throughout Europe.

Now 60 years later, with 27 memeber states, the European Union is an economic and political player on the global stage.

New York's Empire State Building was lit with the blue and yellow EU colors to celebrate the occasion.