EU marks 76th anniversary of Schuman Declaration on Europe Day

The European Union on Saturday marked the 76th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, the founding document that paved the way for European integration and the eventual creation of the EU.

European Council President Antonio Costa said Europe Day belongs to all Europeans and highlighted the achievements made through collective action.

“Today we celebrate our common European project and what we can achieve when we work together,” Costa wrote on the US social media platform X.

“United in diversity, we keep building our shared future of peace, freedom and opportunity,” he added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described Europe Day as a celebration of both European values and European citizens.

“Today, we celebrate all that Europe stands for,” von der Leyen wrote on X.

“And we celebrate all of us, the citizens of Europe. Because all together, we are Europe,” she added.

On May 9, 1950, then-French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community aimed at strengthening cooperation and preventing future wars in postwar Europe.

The declaration is widely regarded as the first formal step toward the establishment of the European Union.