Every year on May 9, Europe Day, a commemoration of peace, unity, and cooperation,is celebrated. In 1950, only five years after the devastation of the Second World War, six European countries, some of them former enemies, chose reconciliation over rivalry. Through the Schuman Declaration, they committed themselves to a future built not on confrontation, but on peace, integration, shared institutions, and common purpose.

What began as an ambitious integration project gradually evolved into today’s European Union: a union of 27 member states and around 450 million citizens, united by democratic values, human rights and the rule of law, and a belief that cooperation makes nations stronger.

Seventy-six years later, that vision remains profoundly relevant, perhaps more relevant than ever.