The commemoration of Europe Day

Forty-eight years ago, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the first step was taken toward the creation of what is now known as the European Union. In a speech inspired by statesman Jean Monnet, the then French foreign minister Robert Schuman proposed that a community of interest be established between France, Germany and any other European country wishing to join them, in the shape of a jointly managed market in coal and steel.

The countries which Schuman called upon had almost destroyed each other in a dreadful conflict, which had left after it a sense of material and moral desolation. Peace was the guiding principle behind this idea of a coalition. This proposal, known as the Schuman Declaration, was officially tabled by France on May 9, 1950. This is the declaration which is being festively commemorated on Europe Day.

Less than a year later, Schuman's proposal bore fruit with the signing, in Paris, of a treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The treaty, known as the Treaty of Paris, came into force in 1952. Its six founding members were France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Main achievements in European integration include the Treaty of Rome (1957), when the six founding states became the European Economic Community (EEC), and the completion of a Customs Union and the establishment of a common external tariff (1968). Enlargements took place when the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland joined in 1972, Greece in 1981 and Portugal and Spain in 1986.

It was also in 1986, that a new treaty, called the Single European Act, was signed. This treaty enabled the free movement of people, capital and goods and services in the single market, which was completed at the end of 1992.

Greater unity was heralded in 1992 when the Treaty on European Union was signed in Maastricht and came into force on Nov. 1, 1993. The Maastricht Treaty, as it is often called, established a European Union consisting of three parts, or "pillars".

The European Union is now the umbrella term encompassing the European Community, essentially economic, and the two new pillars, based on cooperation -- a Common Foreign and Security Policy (including defense) and Justice and Home Affairs (notably to achieve free movement of people inside the union and cooperation on crime, terrorism and immigration issues).

The Maastricht Treaty also included the decision to establish an economic and monetary union (EMU) with a single currency, the Euro, in 1999 at the latest. The year 1995 saw another important enlargement when Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the Union, bringing together 370 million inhabitants, a land area of 3,337,000 km2 and 15 member countries.

Apart from Europe Day, the European Union has other symbols which conjure up a sense of belonging to this new kind of entity. The European Union flag, with a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue background, was adopted in 1986 and it symbolizes harmony and perfection. The number of stars, incidentally, has no relationship with the number of member states.

The European Union also has an anthem: an extract from the last movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, known as the Ode to Joy. This anthem is a tribute to liberty, community and peace.