On May 9, EU countries and Ukraine traditionally celebrate Europe Day, which is not an eternal constant, but was the result of long and contradictory historical processes. Its borders, centers of power, and cultural influences have changed in different eras, and unification attempts have both succeeded and failed. The idea of European unity, as we know it today, began to take shape from a political statement – the “Schumann Declaration”, which proposed a new approach to relations between states. It is from it that the modern history of integration begins, which has gone from economic cooperation to attempts to develop a common foreign policy, security strategy, and vision of the future. For Ukraine, which has become not only a candidate for EU membership, but also a participant in the actual war of civilizations, this date acquires special significance.
Europe Day in Ukraine and the world as a symbol of peace and unity
On May 9, Ukraine, the countries of the European Union and a number of other countries celebrate Europe Day as a symbol of peace and unity of the European peoples. Europeans celebrate Europe Day on May 9. Few people know that historically there are two Europe Days, and each of them has its own deep and important history. The first Europe Day was born on May 5, 1949 — on this day, the Council of Europe was founded, the first pan-European political organization that united countries around common democratic values, human rights and the rule of law. The Council of Europe is not part of the European Union, but it was the first institutional platform after the Second World War for common European development.
The second Europe Day, which is celebrated on May 9, has a different nature. It was on this day in 1950 that the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Schuman, made a speech that later went down in history as the “Schuman Declaration” and became a turning point in European history. In it, the then French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, proposed to unite the coal and steel industries of France and West Germany under joint management. This should not only reduce the risk of a new war between the two old rivals, but also create the first real step towards European unity.
The idea was simple, but far-sighted: to make war between European countries “not only unthinkable, but also materially impossible.” Instead of another political declaration of peace, Schuman proposed a practical model of cooperation — the joint production of strategic resources. It became the basis for the creation of the European Coal and Steel Association, the first supranational European institution.
This step laid the foundation for further integration that eventually led to the creation of the European Union. Therefore, May 9 is celebrated today as Europe Day, but not as a celebratory gesture, but as a reminder of the beginning of the process that transformed a divided and devastated continent into a community with a desire for peace, economic unity and democratic values.
The European Union has its own symbols: a blue flag with golden stars, an anthem called “Ode to Joy” by Beethoven, the euro currency and the motto In varietate concordia (from Latin “Unity in diversity” – ed.). These symbols indicate that Europe stands not so much for uniformity, but for the agreement to live and develop side by side, despite different languages, histories and cultural habits.
Ukraine started celebrating Europe Day back in 2003, but then it looked more like a formality without much content. Everything changed after the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, when the Association Agreement with the European Union was signed. Since then, the holiday has ceased to be a simple tribute to fashion and has gradually become part of our political and social landscape.
In 2022, already in the conditions of a full-scale war, Ukraine submitted an official application for joining the EU and received candidate status in a few months. On May 8, 2023, a new decree of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi entered into force “About Europe Day”, according to which the date of the celebration was changed to May 9. This document also invalidated the previous presidential one Resolution No. 339/2003 of 2003, which regulated the former procedure for celebrating Europe Day.
During the war, Europe Day in Ukraine acquires a special sound. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, the EU countries have not remained aloof. They have accepted millions of Ukrainians, opened their markets, provide weapons, finance, political support, and also help investigate war crimes. The European Union canceled tariffs, opened up export routes, recognized the prospect of Ukraine’s membership, and is implementing recovery programs. All this is not a gesture of goodwill, but confirmation that European values work in practice. Ukraine is located not only geographically in Europe, but also in its very center as a political, moral and strategic priority. Therefore, today Europe Day for her is a day of gratitude, reciprocity and choice: to be free together, even when this freedom is fought to the sound of sirens.
Europe through the ages: from chaos to unity
Europe did not emerge overnight and certainly did not appear with the signature of another agreement. It grew out of conflicts, compromises, conquests, exchanges and mutual irritation. What is called the European Union today is actually the result of thousands of years of political surgery, cultural stitching, trade and sometimes completely irrational alliances.
In ancient Europe, there was no single space in the modern sense. The territory of the continent consisted of many tribal associations, individual city-states and early forms of kingdoms, which often did not even have a common idea about their neighbors. Political fragmentation and local interests were the norm. Athenians and Spartans, for example, could speak a similar language but belong to different systems of identity, ways of life, and notions of order. However, it was in this environment that basic concepts were formed, which later acquired a wider meaning: democracy, citizenship, critical thinking.
The Roman expansion introduced another logic — that of integration. The empire connected numerous regions with a network of roads, a common legal field, army garrisons, and an administrative structure. Similar basilicas, forums, and aqueducts could be found in the Roman cities of North Africa, Britain, and the Balkans. However, Rome did not eliminate diversity – it simply subordinated it to centralized management. The decline of the empire not only destroyed political integrity, but also returned many regions to closed local structures. In the 5th–10th centuries, the European space consisted of feudal estates that often conflicted with each other or lived in isolation.
In the Middle Ages, other forms of interaction dominated. The model of vassal dependence prevailed, where loyalty and support were transferred not through abstract citizenship, but through personal ties. The unity was religious rather than political: Western Europe had a common church, liturgical language (Latin) and an idea of a Christian community. Thanks to this, elements of a common cultural field were preserved in the conditions of territorial dispersion — primarily in the field of education and knowledge.
The Crusades, despite their military purpose, opened up new routes for the exchange of goods and information. Dynastic marriages between ruling families contributed to the formation of the first cross-border alliances. The development of universities, such as those of Bologna or Paris, created a common academic space where students from different regions came. Latin as the universal language of science and religion provided the possibility of communication between intellectuals. Trade routes—especially those connecting the Baltic, North, and Mediterranean seas—gradually shaped the idea of regional interdependence.
Even catastrophes such as the plague pandemic in the fourteenth century revealed this interdependence: the epidemic spread along trade routes and affected different classes in different parts of Europe. It did not unite the continent in a political sense, but it did change perceptions of shared vulnerability and the need for knowledge that could explain events of a universal scale. In this way, through informal and often indirect channels, arose what would later be called European civilization. Not as a single body, but as a field of constant contacts, influences, adaptations and disputes.
The Age of Enlightenment gave Europe intellectual oxygen. Ideas of human rights, separation of powers, and civil liberties began to emerge. But the colonial wars, and then the world wars, were unfolding at the same time. The two Great Wars of the 20th century exhausted the resources of old Europe to the brim. The continent, which considered itself the heart of civilization, found itself in material and even moral ruins. It was this fatigue from hatred that became the basis for a new model of coexistence. Not because everyone suddenly became good, but because the next war promised not millions of dead, but complete destruction. This is how a not at all romantic, but rather pragmatic idea of unity was born.
That is, Europe as a political and cultural reality has never been homogeneous. From ancient city-states and medieval formations to modern empires, the European continent remained a space of deep fragmentation, at the same time united by common ideas about law, philosophy, political system and public power. Talks about the unity of Europe accompanied the history of the continent for centuries, but the real institutional project of European integration began to take shape only after the catastrophe of the Second World War.
From this economic seed gradually grew the political system known today as the European Union. And if once Europe was united by empires, churches or railways, now it is held together by laws, markets, bureaucracy and shared values. And even if they don’t always sound exciting, they work. It is clear that Europe is far from a utopia or an ideal club. This is a constant work on oneself, a complex dialogue between history and modernity. And that’s why it still holds together.
How Europe Day is celebrated in the world
Each participating country celebrates Europe Day in its own way. Outside of Ukraine, May 9 is not perceived as a day of mass parades or salutes, but rather as an intelligent reminder that Europe once learned to negotiate after centuries of massacre. In each country, Europe Day has its own style, its own atmosphere and even its own rhythm.
In Germany, this day fits into the format of the so-called “European week” (a series of public discussions, exhibitions, cultural events and lectures). Schools conduct lessons about European integration, local authorities have started forums where they discuss the values by which the EU lives. It doesn’t look too festive, but that’s how a living democracy works. Although without loud fanfare, but with a sense of responsibility.
May 9 has been declared an official holiday in Luxembourg. This small country has a special attitude to the European idea, because the architect of European integration, Robert Schuman, came from here. Therefore, the celebration here acquires an almost homely feel with concerts, street festivals, debates, educational events, open days in the EU institutions.
Poland is going its own way. In Warsaw, the Schuman Parade is held with a solemn procession of citizens, activists, and students who demonstrate support for the European course of the country. Here, Europe Day has long become a platform for civil dialogue, and not just a holiday.
In Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, where the main European institutions are located, May 9 turns into a kind of Open Door Day. The European Parliament, the EU Council, and the European Commission let everyone in. You can walk through the corridors where decisions are made that affect the lives of hundreds of millions of Europeans, and hear about the European Union firsthand.
France, despite the fact that it is one of the founding countries of the EU, does not have an official holiday on May 9. But this does not mean that the date is forgotten. Debates, cultural events, presentations of European projects are held in many cities, and thematic lessons on the role of France in building the European Union are organized in educational institutions. Europe Day in each country has become a litmus test of how it perceives the idea of a united Europe: as a formality, as a political compromise or as part of its identity.
Therefore, Europe Day became a kind of reminder that the continent, which was at war with itself for centuries, was able to invent another way of coexistence. In a world where shots are being fired again and divisions across borders are becoming more severe, this holiday sounds particularly relevant. It is not so much about the past as about the choices that have to be made every day. The world looks at Ukraine not as an outside observer, but as a participant in the process, which is trying to prove that European values are not kept in archives, they live in action, even when sirens sound around.
However, it is worth noting that if we really seek integration into the European space, only desire and external attributes are not decisive. Europe is clear rules that are strictly enforced and institutions that clearly fulfill their functions. Currently, bureaucratic chaos still reigns in Ukraine, which slows down even the simplest initiatives. Legislation often lives separately from real life, and the interests of citizens are regularly lost between formal prescriptions and corrupt practices. Until these systemic contradictions are overcome, any celebration of Europe Day looks more like a ritual than a manifestation of real movement forward. Therefore, the real Europe Day for Ukraine will begin only when human rights, justice and effective public administration become not the exception, but the norm.
