As every year for over two decades, Europe Day was celebrated across the Western Balkans on 9 May. Citizens were able to enjoy activities such as live music concerts, art exhibitions, and sports. The Young European Ambassadors too were part of Europe Day activities across Western Balkan cities, contributing through workshops, discussions, and awareness-raising actions which included topics such as human rights, the digital and green future, peacebuilding, and gender equality.

Europe Day commemorates the signing of the ‘Schuman Declaration’ on 9 May 1950. This was an ambitious plan to secure long-term peace in post-war Europe and is considered the beginning of what is now the European Union. At a speech in Paris in 1950, the then French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable. This day is an opportunity to remember Schuman’s declaration, the first fundamental document in the creation of today’s EU, along with the celebration of European values.