Join ‘Thame For Europe’ group to celebrate Europe Day

TOMORROW, Tuesday, May 9, is Europe Day/EU Flag Day and the recently formed, Thame For Europe  group, will be manning a stall in Greyhound Walk from 11am -5pm.

TFE spokesperson, Phillipa Tawn, told Thame.Net: “The purpose of Europe Day is to celebrate peace and cooperation with our European neighbours. We will not be discussing the election. We will be giving out free EU flags and stickers; inviting people to write down what they feel is most important about the EU and to attach the note to our olive tree. We will also be offering a small prize for anyone who can identify more than 10 of the EU flags. We also hope that many people will sign up to join our group.”

Europe Day, held on May 9 every year, celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historical ‘Schuman declaration‘. At a speech in Paris in 1950, when Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable.

His vision was to create a European institution that would pool and manage coal and steel production. A treaty creating such a body was signed just under a year later. Schuman’s proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.