Does the EU have a 'national day'to which the answer is
Yes. The 9th May is celebrated within the European Union as "Schuman Day" or "Europe Day" as it is more commonly known. On 9th May 1950, Robert Schuman (French Minister for Foreign Affairs) made a speech on behalf of the French Government to propose the pooling of French and German coal and steel industries under a joint European Institution. It was this suggested that led to the birth of the first European Community Institution, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and eventually to the European Community itself - click here for more information on Europe Day.Sadly, clicking as instructed takes you to an error page, so nothing to see there, move along. (Weirdly, it's a page with 'newzealand' in its URL. Some Brussels directive thingy?)
But - surely the only species of polity which can have a National Day is, erm, a nation, yes?
Speaking of nations, the same FAQ page offers a list of the National Days of the Member States. Look:
Lithuania - 16 February
Estonia - 24 February
Ireland - 17 March
Greece - 25 March
Denmark - 16 April
Netherlands - 30 April
Poland - 3 May
Italy - 2 June
Sweden - 6 June
Portugal - 10 June
Luxembourg - 23 June
Slovenia - 25 June
France - 14 July
Belgium - 21 July
Hungary - 20 August
Slovakia - 1 September
Malta - 21 September
Cyprus - 1 October
Germany - 3 October
Spain - 12 October
Austria - 26 October
Notice anything?
What that the United Kingdom isn't on there?
ReplyDeleteIndividual parts of the UK have official or unofficial 'National Days', but not one for Britain.
We've never (historically) needed one but we've been told that we shouldn't have pride in our identity. The other nations of the UK can have their pride it being Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish, but never the English - or the people in England that consider themselves British.
As for Europe Day: a quiet 'celebration' of the EU will be held in the garden with the aid of a few beers. :)
The only celebration of the EU that will be held in my garden is when we leave it.
ReplyDeleteBoy, will that be some celebration.
One can dream.
We're not there. Does that mean we have left?
ReplyDelete