On 9 May 2013 Europe will celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. On 9 May 1950, the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman made the first move towards the creation of what we now know as the European Union (EU). Only five years after the Second World War, he proposed the creation of a supranational European institution. The countries which he called upon had almost destroyed each other, and reconciliation was a brave thing to imagine at that time.
This year’s celebrations will be especially poignant following the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize 2012 to the EU. In its citation, the Nobel Committee said that the EU had “for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe”.
Source: Delegation of the European Union to Canada, 2013