The European Union (EU) is a family of democratic European countries, committed to working together for peace and prosperity. It is not a State intended to replace existing states, but it is more than any other international organisation. The EU is, in fact, unique. Its Member States have set up common institutions to which they delegate some of their sovereignty so that decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level.This pooling of sovereignty is also called "European integration".
The historical roots of the European Union lie in the Second World War. The idea of European integration was conceived to prevent such killing and destruction from ever happening again. It was first proposed by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman in a speech on 9 May 1950. This date, the "birthday" of what is now the EU, is celebrated annually as Europe Day.
There are five EU institutions, each playing a specific role:
• European Parliament (elected by the peoples of the Member States);
• Council of the European Union (representing the governments of the Member States);
• European Commission (driving force and executive body);
• Court of Justice (ensuring compliance with the law);
• Court of Auditors (controlling sound and lawful management of the EU budget).
These are flanked by five other important bodies:
• European Economic and Social Committee (expresses the opinions of organised civil society on economic and social issues);
• Committee of the Regions (expresses the opinions of regional and local authorities);
• European Central Bank (responsible for monetary policy and managing the euro);
• European Ombudsman (deals with citizens' complaints about maladministration by any EU institution or body);
• European Investment Bank (helps achieve EU objectives by financing investment projects);
EUROPE DAY
May 9th 2005 - 55th Anniversary
Europe Day is the annual occasion for activities that bring Europe closer to the citizens. It is an occasion for providing information and encouraging discussion on European Union issues, and for festivities that bring together people and cultures from different European countries. The European Union has its own flag <http://europa.eu.int/en/eu/emblem.html> , its own anthem <http://europa.eu.int/en/eu/anthem.html> and celebrates Europe Day on 9 May <http://europa.eu.int/abc/9-may/index-en.htm> .
Probably very few people in Europe know that on 9 May 1950 the first move was made towards the creation of what is now known as the European Union. In Paris that day, against the background of the threat of a Third World War engulfing the whole of Europe, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read to the international press a declaration <http://europa.eu.int/abc/9-may/files/decl-en.htm> calling France, Germany and other European countries to pool together their coal and steel production as "the first concrete foundation of a European federation".
What he proposed was the creation of a supranational European Institution, charged with the management of the coal and steel industry, the very sector, which was, at that time, the basis of all military power. The countries, which he called upon, had almost destroyed each other in a dreadful conflict, which had left after it a sense of material and moral desolation. Everything, therefore, began that day. That is why during the Milan Summit of EU leaders in 1985 it was decided to celebrate 9 May as "Europe Day".
The Union's aims and prospects
During its brief history <http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/index_en.htm> , the European Union has grown greatly in terms of the area it covers - it now numbers fifteen Member States <http://europa.eu.int/en/eu/states.htm> - its political significance and its institutions. The founding Treaties <http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/treaties/index.html> have been revised three times: in 1987 (the Single Act), in 1992 (the Treaty on European Union) and in 1997 (Treaty of Amsterdam). On May 1, 2004, 10 Nations will join the European Union, the largest even addition to the EU.
The ultimate goal of the European Union is „an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen‰; the objective is to promote economic and social progress which is balanced and sustainable, assert the European identity on the international scene and introduce a European citizenship for the nationals of the Member States.
Every country, which democratically chooses to accede to the European Union, endorses its fundamental values of peace and solidarity.
Delegation of the European Commission to the United States
2300 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20037
Telephone: (202) 862-9500 Fax: (202) 429-1766 http://www.eurunion.org/newsweb/home.htm
This is the anthem not only of the European Union but also of Europe in a wider sense. The melody comes from the Ninth Symphony composed in 1823 by Ludwig Van Beethoven. For the final movement of this symphony, Beethoven set to music the "Ode to Joy" written in 1785 by Friedrich von Schiller. This poem expresses Schiller's idealistic vision of the human race becoming brothers - a vision Beethoven shared.
In 1972, the Council of Europe (the same body that designed the European flag) adopted Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" theme as its own anthem. The well-known conductor Herbert Von Karajan was asked to write three instrumental arrangements - for solo piano, for wind instruments and for symphony orchestra. Without words, in the universal language of music, this anthem expresses the ideals of freedom, peace and solidarity for which Europe stands.
In 1985, it was adopted by EU heads of State and government as the official anthem of the European Union. It is not intended to replace the national anthems of the Member States but rather to celebrate the values they all share and their unity in diversity.
European Flag
This is the European flag. The circle of gold stars represents solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe. The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of Member States. There are twelve stars because the number twelve is traditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity. The flag therefore remains unchanged regardless of EU enlargements.
History of the flag
The history of the flag goes back to 1955. At that time, the European Union existed only in the form of the European Coal and Steel Community, with just six Member States. But a separate body with a larger membership - the Council of Europe - had been set up several years earlier and was busy defending human rights and promoting European culture.
The Council of Europe was considering what symbol to adopt for its own use. After much discussion, the present design was adopted - a circle of twelve gold stars on a blue background. In various traditions, twelve is a symbolic number representing perfection. It is also, of course, the number of months in a year and the number of hours shown on a clock face. The circle is, among other things, a symbol of unity. So the European flag was born, representing the ideal of unity among the peoples of Europe.
The Council of Europe then encouraged other European institutions to adopt the same flag and, in 1983, the European Parliament took up the call. Finally, in 1985, the flag was adopted by all EU heads of State and government as the official emblem of the European Union - which, in those days, was called the European Communities.
All European institutions have been using it since the beginning of 1986.
The European flag is the only emblem of the European Commission - the EU's executive arm. Other EU institutions and bodies use an emblem of their own in addition to the European flag.
