See also:

• Europe Day - 2005

Europe Day - 9 May 06

• Background
• About Europe Day
• The History of the European Flag

Background

Each year on the 9 May the Chair of Devon County Council hosts with the Devon Branch of the European Movement, a brief ceremony on the anniversary of Europe day at Bellair, County Hall. On 9 May 06 this year's Chair of Devon County Council raised the flag with local school children, and in attendance were many branch UNISON members.

About Europe Day

The ideas behind what is now the European Union were first put forward in Paris on 9 May 1950, against the background of the instability and the need to rebuild a shattered Europe. The then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read to the international press a declaration (opens in a new window) calling on France, Germany and other European countries to pool together their coal and steel production.

What he proposed was the creation of a supranational European Institution, charged with the management of the coal and steel industry, the basis of all military power. The countries which he called upon had almost destroyed each other in a dreadful conflict, and Schuman's proposal to remove coal and steel production from national controls would make sure such a war could never happen again.

Today's ambition is completely different: to build a Europe which respects freedom and the identity of all of the people who live on this continent. But this ambition is only possible because of the foundations laid by Schuman's declaration.

That is why during the Milan Summit of EU leaders in 1985 it was decided that 9 May should be celebrated as 'Europe Day'.

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History of the European flag

The history of the flag goes back to 1955. At that time, the European Union existed only in the form of the European Coal and Steel Community, with just six Member States. But a separate body with a larger membership - the Council of Europe - had been set up several years earlier and was busy defending human rights and promoting European culture.

The Council of Europe was considering what symbol to adopt for its own use. After much discussion, the present design was adopted - a circle of twelve gold stars on a blue background. In various traditions, twelve is a symbolic number representing perfection. It is also, of course, the number of months in a year and the number of hours shown on a clock face. The circle is, among other things, a symbol of unity. So the European flag was born, representing the ideal of unity among the peoples of Europe.

The Council of Europe then encouraged other European institutions to adopt the same flag and, in 1983, the European Parliament took up the call. Finally, in 1985, the flag was adopted by all EU heads of State and government as the official emblem of the European Union - which, in those days, was called the European Communities.

All European institutions have been using it since the beginning of 1986.