TIRANA, May 9 /ATA/ – Europe Day observed on 9 May every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe.
Prime Minister Edi Rama extended his Europe Day greetings via a video showing the way how the European Union works as a supportive organization providing solidarity with all member states.
The date marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman declaration. At a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable.
May 9, 1950 marked the first move towards forming the basis for the today’s European Union. On that day in Paris, France’s Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read a declaration in front of hundreds of French and international journalists, calling on France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and other European Countries to jointly manage coal and steel resources and production as “the first concrete foundation of a future European federation.”
He proposed foundation of a European institution tasked with management of the European coal and steel industries, precisely the sector that formed the core of the military might back then. That is why the EU leaders decided at the Milan Summit in 1985 to celebrate May 9 as Europe Day.
Albania’s aspiration to join Europe came into being in the early 1990s, shortly after the fall of the communist regime. It is quite significant that for Albanians, the idea of change was embodied with unification with the large European family. The only way to break free from tragic isolation and deep economic underdevelopment was to integrate with European through building democracy and a free market economy.
After the establishment of Albania’s diplomatic relations with the European Union in 1990, both sides signed the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in 1992, which for the first time materialized Albania’s efforts for rapprochement and assistance from the European Union.
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