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OROn Saturday, for the first time in almost 50 years, we observe Europe Day without the United Kingdom as a member state of the European Union. As ambassadors and high commissioners representing the EU and its 27 countries in the UK, we are eager to mark the date with all the citizens of this great country and with the millions of EU citizens living and working in England, Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland.
We celebrate Europe on May 9 because that same day in 1950, exactly 70 years ago, after the devastating Second World War, Luxembourg-born Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, laid the foundation for our collective effort. He said then: “Europe will not be done at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements that first create de facto solidarity. “
Since then, Schuman’s dream has gradually come true, allowing many countries and millions of Europeans to enjoy freedom, democracy, fundamental rights and high standards of living, in what historians will record as the longest period of peace in our part of the world. Many centuries.
On both sides of the Canal we have witnessed a torrent of dedication, kindness and altruism.
After progressively expanding its reach, both politically and geographically, the EU became the world’s largest single market and the largest provider of humanitarian and development aid, a true global actor committed to effective multilateralism. With almost 500 million citizens, it brings together peoples and nations from across Europe who are proud of their history and culture, but know that they will be stronger together. It is revealing that this year, we also mark the 25th anniversary of the accession to the union of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and the 40th anniversary of the historic Solidarity movement in Poland.
All this and much more is what we celebrate with pride today. We do this as we confidently look to the future of our union, focused on finding a common way out of the health emergency, ensuring an inclusive economic recovery and building the foundation for sustainable development in Europe and around the world.
The UK made a significant contribution to European achievements before and during its 47 years of membership in the European Union. Therefore, it is natural for us to celebrate Europe Day also with the British people, their workers and entrepreneurs, their researchers, their teachers and academics, their artists, their farmers and fishermen, their doctors and nurses. Today, our thoughts are especially directed to Covid-19 victims and their families, and to all dedicated and front-line workers across the country.
The current unprecedented health emergency has brought us closer, within each of our countries and among the 27, as well as between all of us in the EU and our British friends. We all know that Covid-19 does not forgive anyone, neither the family nor the country. We all know that only together can we overcome it.
In our cities, towns and villages, on both sides of the Canal, we have witnessed a torrent of dedication, kindness and altruism. It should not surprise us: solidarity is part of our DNA, both in the European Union and in the United Kingdom. EU citizens employed by the NHS have worked tirelessly, along with their British colleagues, to save lives since the outbreak of the pandemic.
An EU repatriation program helped nearly 2,000 stranded British citizens worldwide return safely to their homes. British flights did the same for EU citizens. These examples illustrate how the most challenging situations bring out the best in each of us, as the Queen so eloquently highlighted in her broadcast to the nation on April 5.
The UK made a democratic decision, which we regret but fully respect, to leave the EU. We are now implementing the transitional provisions of the withdrawal agreement as we negotiate the terms of our future relationships. For anyone who has doubted that a close future partnership between the UK and the EU is in their mutual interest, the ongoing health emergency has certainly provided ample room for reflection.
In fact, in today’s globalized, interconnected and interdependent world, cooperation between nations and states, and peoples, is essential. A good example is what the UK and Italy are doing together in the climate crisis, jointly ensuring that the Cop26 conference provides a high level of global ambition to overcome this great challenge for humanity. Another is the ongoing global promise to fund Covid-19 treatment and vaccination, of which the EU and the UK are major sponsors.
We believe that cooperation and solidarity among countries, with full respect for sovereignty and diversity, are key factors in overcoming today’s challenges, starting with the current health emergency. We are confident that these principles will also inspire the future relationship between the UK and the EU, and that is the friendly message that, as a united group of 28 ambassadors and high commissioners, we would like to convey to the British people on this Europe Day.
This article was jointly written by: João Vale de Almeida, Ambassador of the European Union to the United Kingdom; Michael Zimmermann, Ambassador of Austria; Ellen De Geest, Chargé d’affaires of Belgium; Marin Raykov, Ambassador of Bulgaria; Igor Pokaz, Ambassador of Croatia; Andreas S Kakouris, High Commissioner for Cyprus; Libor Sečka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic; Lars Thuesen, Ambassador of Denmark; Tiina Intelmann, Ambassador of Estonia; Markku Keinänen, Ambassador of Finland; Catherine Colonna, Ambassador of France; Julia Gross, Charge d’Affaires from Germany; Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras, Ambassador of Greece; Ferenc Kumin, Ambassador of Hungary; Adrian O’Neill, Ambassador of Ireland; Raffaele Trombetta, Ambassador of Italy; Katarina Plātere, charge d’affaires of Latvia; Renatas Norkus, Ambassador of Lithuania; Jean Olinger, Ambassador of Luxembourg; Joseph Cole, High Commissioner for Malta; Simon Smits, ambassador of the Netherlands; Arkady Rzegocki, Ambassador of Poland; Manuel Lobo Antunes, Ambassador of Portugal; Sorin-Dan Mihalache, Ambassador of Romania; Lubomír Rehák, Ambassador of Slovakia; Tadej Rupel, Ambassador of Slovenia; Carlos Bastarreche, Ambassador of Spain; Torbjörn Sohlström, Ambassador of Sweden
