EU Day initiative

Update of 25.04

The Initiative has been cited today in this article appeared in "la Repubblica.it", the well known italian newspaper. Simona Guerra, Associate Professor of Politics (Leicester University) is also ambassador and spokesperson of the Initiative.

If you also publish about the Initiative or know about any media mentioning it, please let us know so we can share with you all. More publications can be found here. Please have in mind the contents of the last Communiqué and feel free to use the logo, link to the website and any information on the Initiative, as it is also yours as promoter/ambassador. The next May 9 is coming closer, let's be LOUDER this time! Use and promote this Facebook frame to make it visible.

Update of 01 March 2019

As you may have heard by now, the proposal has been approved by the European Parliament with 459 votes in favour. This is a huge success for all of us, who believe and actively support the initiative as a vehicle of cohesion within the EU. And we are happy to see that the presentation of the Initiative on January 29 in Brussels has soon been followed by such a positive outcome. The result is hitting the news all over Europe.

We leave you here a couple of those articles. You can read more at the Initiative's website here, where we are compiling all related articles that come to our attention.

- Moves to make Europe Day a public holiday - Published 1/2/2019 by PhileNews.

- 9th May could be a new European public holiday - Published 9/2/2019 by NEWSBOOK.

However, as you know, the will of the European Parliament is not binding in this case. We must thus keep on working on the Initiative and spreading the word for urging the other EU institutions and the national governments to make it real, so that this huge step forward of the PE and our joint efforts do not fall on deaf ears.

We therefore encourage you to continue spreading the Initiative in your circles of acquaintances, debates and social networks, with all the materials available at the Initiative’s website or your own. You may, for instance, record and send us a short video (around 1 minute) of you stating why you or your organisation support the initiative, which we will also be happy to share in social media.

Remember you can always share your ideas about the project by answering to this email or using the Telegram channel for ambassadors and promoters (one or two members per organization).

Background

The 9th of May is a public holiday for members and employees of the European institutions but it is not for other European citizens, those who really make possible the existence of our European Union. These are the citizens who are a part of a European Union as equals, participating in the election of political representatives, being directly affected by their decisions and living with the consequences. The 9th of May should be a date reaching all Europeans, not a gap between institutions and citizens. It should be a day for celebrating our Union, of which European citizens are essential, for filling each Member State with thousands of people marking this day, its history - which is our history - and sharing the boon of being and feeling European.

Aware that every Member State has competence to establish its own work calendar, we ask the national parliaments and the European Council, comprising the Heads of state or government of EU countries, to promote Europe Day as a public holiday. We know it is an ambitious goal, but achievable, and that is why we believe it is necessary to call for joint action of the European institutions, political parties, social groups and civil society to explore together the best way to make it a reality.

The next elections to the European Parliament will be held in 23–26 May 2019 and this further encourages us to promote the need to turn the 9th of May into an inclusive holiday. Why? To make this day a celebration for all European citizens, an appointment in which we can make known, close up, the European Union and our common past. Let Europe Day spread its forward-looking projects over the continent, fanning the pride of being European. Let's make every citizen keen to wave the EU flag as a symbol of union and progress to build our common future. Let's make every European feel the need to keep our appointment with the ballot boxes to start writing our future together.

One hymn, one flag and one commemoration. Symbols unite us, silence divides us.

We also recorded videos with some of the ambassadors and representatives of the promoting organisations, where they introduced themselves and gave reasons to support the establishment of May 9 as a EU wide public holiday. In order to enable everyone to have a public voice, you are invited to record and send us a short video (around 1 minute) of your own, which we will also publish.

At last, we encourage you to continue spreading the Initiative in your circles of acquaintances, debates and by social networks, with all the materials available at the Initiative’s website, and to share your ideas and news about the project by answering to this email or using the Telegram channel for ambassadors and promoters (one or two members per organization).

See or download the text as PDF here.