Europe Day: rise of populism and shifting dynamics ahead of crucial elections

RFI

9 May 2024 at 4:28 am·1-min read

On 9 May, Europe commemorates the founding document of the EU – the Schuman Declaration. Signed on the same date in 1950, the declaration was the stepping-stone to cooperation in Europe and peace on the continent.

This year's Europe Day takes place 45 years after the first European elections in 1979 and falls shortly before the elections of 2024 that will be held between 6 and 9 June in all EU.

Europe Day is celebrated on 9 May each year and commemorates the moment when French foreign minister Robert Schuman presented his proposal for the creation of a unified European organisation on 9 May, 1950.

The Schuman Declaration laid the groundwork for what would eventually become the European Union.

"Europe will not be made all at once," said the declaration. "Or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity."

The document says that unity in Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany. It adds: "Any action taken must in the first place concern these two countries."

Initially the declaration proposed that Franco-German production of coal and steel as a whole be placed under a common High Authority, which grew into the European Coal and Steel Community, which merged into the European Economic Community that, eventually, became the European Union.

Crucial issues like the Ukraine conflict and the green transition loom large, as do economic challenges.

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