May 9, 2020 – Europe Day at the time of Covid19
The day of Europe Day 2020 sees us all engaged in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic that has prevented us from carrying out the annual events during which we promote awareness of the European Union and its actions and reflect on its further potential. Europe, in order to cope with the emergencies we are experiencing, has already put in place a series of measures and regulations, approved in a very short time, probably unthinkable at one time. Among the measures that can be activated are those of the Structural Funds and among them the European Social Fund, thanks to the changes made to the relevant European Regulations.
The messages of the Presidents of the European Parliament, David Maria Sassoli, of the European Council, Charles Michel, and of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as well as those of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, offer a broad vision of this historic moment that falls 70 years after the Schuman Declaration on Europe and 75 years after the end of the Second World War. Below are the messages taken from the institutional websites of the European Commission and the Presidency of the Republic:Europe must emerge stronger from this crisis (joint editorial by President Sassoli, President Michel and President von der Leyen) – Brussels, 9 May 2020
In 1950, Europe was in a crisis situation, physically and economically devastated by the effects of the Second World War, and politically searching for a way to prevent the repetition of the horrors of war. In this dark period, on May 9, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presented his plan to enable Europe to achieve this goal, proposing the creation of common institutions to make war not only unthinkable but also materially impossible. His words changed the course of history and laid the foundations on which his generation and subsequent generations built the European Union we know today.
The 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration comes at another time of crisis for Europe. In recent months, more than 100,000 people across the continent have died from the coronavirus.Hundreds of millions of people have suffered unprecedented restrictions on their daily lives to limit the spread of the virus.
As Presidents of the three main EU institutions, we turn our thoughts today first and foremost to the people who have lost loved ones. We express our gratitude to the essential workers who have continued to work during the crisis, to the frontline workers in hospitals and care homes for the elderly, who struggle to save lives, but also to delivery drivers, sales clerks, police officers, and all those who work to ensure the normal continuation of daily life.
We are also grateful to the citizens of Europe for the spirit of solidarity and civic-mindedness they have shown. Millions of volunteers made themselves available to help in any way they could during the crisis, delivering groceries to elderly neighbors, sewing masks, or collecting money for people in need. Europe showed its best side when it demonstrated proximity and solidarity.
Europe acted boldly to ensure the functioning of the single market, making it possible to deliver medical supplies to doctors and nurses who needed them, to bring ventilators where they could save lives, and to provide food and other essential goods so that Europeans could find them in the stores.We took unprecedented decisions to ensure that national governments had the budgetary capacity to deal with the crisis immediately. We turned the European Stability Mechanism into a tool to fight Covid-19.
We made €100 billion available to save jobs by supporting national short-time working schemes. The European Central Bank has provided unprecedented support to ensure the continuity of credit to individuals and businesses.However, we need to do much more. While our member states are beginning to gradually loosen blocking measures and restrictions, the top priority must remain saving lives and protecting the most vulnerable in our societies. We must continue to do everything we can to support research on a coronavirus vaccine.
The success of the Donors’ Conference for the Global Response to the Coronavirus on May 4, which raised €7.4 billion and brought together the world’s health organizations to collaborate on research on vaccines, therapies, and diagnostic tools, shows that the world can quickly ally to address a common cause. We must support this mobilization and ensure that the world remains united in the face of the coronavirus. Europe can play a decisive role in this. At the same time, all Member States must have the necessary budgetary margin to deal with the current medical emergency.
And we must prepare for recovery. After fearing for their lives, many Europeans now fear for their jobs. We must restart the engine of the European economy. Let us remember the spirit of Robert Schuman and his counterparts: inventive, bold, pragmatic. They showed that overcoming times of crisis requires thinking about politics in a new way and breaking with the past. We must do the same and recognize that to sustain the recovery we will need new ideas and new tools, and admit that the Europe that will emerge from this crisis cannot and will not be the same.First of all we must do more to improve the existence of the poorest and most vulnerable in our societies. There were too many people in Europe who, even before this crisis began, were struggling to make ends meet.
Today, millions of others who have lost their jobs or businesses face an uncertain future. Young people and women have been particularly hard hit and need concrete and determined support. Europe must show courage and do whatever it takes to protect lives and livelihoods, particularly in the areas hardest hit by the crisis.Our Union must also be healthy and sustainable. One lesson we must learn from this crisis is that it is important to listen to scientific advice and act before it is too late. We cannot postpone the fight against climate change and we must build our recovery on the European Green Deal. And we must be closer to the citizens, making our Union more transparent and more democratic. The Conference on the Future of Europe, which was scheduled to start today and was delayed only because of the pandemic, will be essential to develop these ideas.
We are living in a time of temporary fragility, and only a strong European Union will be able to protect our common heritage and the economies of our member states.Yesterday we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. We must always remember the horrors and barbarity of war, and the sacrifices made to end it. Today, let us reflect on what happened next.
Let us remember the generation of the 1950s, who thought that a better Europe and a better world could be built on the ruins of war, which it later did. If we learn these lessons, if we remain united in solidarity and with our values, then Europe will be able to emerge from the crisis again, stronger than before.
Statement by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella – Rome May 9, 2020
“On May 9, 1950, Robert Schuman, one of the fathers of Europe, in a statement that has become famous, imagined a continent united economically and – in perspective – politically, to overcome the heavy legacy of war and as the starting point for an ambitious process of integration between countries.The path of the European Union has passed through phases of confidence and periods of difficulty, but never failing in its fundamental promise of peace, stability and prosperity for the peoples of Europe.
The vision of a generation of intellectuals and politicians who, for the common good of the European family, were able to overcome long-standing divisions, must sustain us even in the current difficult circumstances.We are faced with a challenge that is unprecedented in its breadth and depth, and we must know how to respond with the kind of farsightedness that, even today, represents the most precious heritage bequeathed to us by the Founding Fathers. What is at stake here is not only a response to the epidemic crisis, but a fundamental test for the future of our peoples and for the stability of the continent itself.
The European project has demonstrated the flexibility and resilience necessary to bring about fundamental and positive changes. Only more Europe will make it possible to deal more effectively with the pandemic – a challenge of truly global dimensions – in terms of research and the adoption of measures to defend health and in terms of economic and social recovery. We would all be in greater difficulty if we did not have the necessary network of sharing that binds our peoples through common institutions. We all feel the responsibility to unite in support of vigorous measures to respond to the crisis and its consequences.
We all feel a responsibility to unite in support of the vigorous measures taken in response to the crisis and its consequences, both those already decided and those still to be taken.the European path has produced enormous progress in these seventy years towards the “fusion of interests necessary for the establishment of an economic community” envisioned by Schuman.now the current emergency only confirms the urgency of responding to the demands for change expressed by the citizens of Europe, in order to further develop the “ferment of a deeper community. Weaving the threads of our common destiny is a duty we cannot shirk”.