"Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity." (Schuman Declaration)
On 9 May we celebrate Europe Day, a day which stands for peace and unity in Europe. On this very date in 1950, in a historical statement that would go down in history as the Schuman Declaration, the French foreign minister Robert Schuman proposed to pool and manage under a common High Authority French and West German coal and steel production. Open to other Western European countries, this project would lead to a gradual political integration and to the pacification of the Old Continent. Indeed, one year later, France, West Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy signed the Treaty of Paris (18 April 1951), which created the European Coal and Steel Community: the first European supranational organisation was born!
This anniversary will be the perfect occasion to pay tribute to European solidarity in this time of crisis via a host of online activities. To find out more about this landmark moment in our history and discover the initiatives that are taking place throughout the EU, check out the dedicated section of the European Union website. And of course, don’t forget to practise with the numerous resources available on the Speech Repository, where you will find lots of speeches about Europe, from pedagogical material to real debates and press conferences!
Here is our selection:
DE 25809 Aktuelle Lage in der Europäischen Union
DE 23739 Vielsprachigkeit in der Europäischen Union
DE 21943 Fünfzigjähriges Bestehen des Europäischen Parlaments
DE 21720 Europäische Investitionsbank
DE 21934 Ökonomische und politische Leitlinien - Vorbereitung des Europäischen Rates
EN 24152 Demographic shift in Europe
EN 22231 Social Europe
EN 23186 Translation at the European Commission from 1958 to 2010
EN 28860 Top states of the European Union
EN 26241 Switzerland and Europe
EN 21812 European governance
ES 26564 La Unión Europea cumple 60 años
ES 22696 Historia de la Unión Europea (My Speech Repository)
FR 21928 Célébration du premier demi-siècle du Parlement européen
FR 25620/25618 Cent ans après la première guerre mondiale: leçons à tirer et avenir de l'Europe (débat) I/II
FR 25517 L'image des institutions européennes (My Speech Repository)
FR 24765 C'est la faute à l'Europe
FR 23355 Conférence de presse au sommet européen sur la gouvernance économique
FR 21895 Quatrième forum sur la cohésion européenne
IT 24137 I diritti linguistici in Europa
IT 23552 Il governo economico dell'Unione europea (My Speech Repository)
IT 22990 I confini dell'Europa
IT 24316 Il bilancio dell'Unione Europea
IT 23316 La strategia Europa 2020
IT 22877 Accesso del pubblico ai documenti di Parlamento Europeo, Consiglio e Commissione
PL 23992 Integracja europejska a pamięć historyczna narodów
PL 22982 Rola Parlamentu Europejskiego
PL 22984 Posłowie do Parlamentu Europejskiego
Stay safe and keep on practising!
Your Speech Repository Team!