European Union celebrates Europe Day

Brussels: The European Union celebrated Europe Day. This day commemorates the vision of the founders of the EU who, only 5 years after the end of World War II, launched a project to bring peace and prosperity to European continent, which had been torn apart by conflicts for centuries. It took these brave men and women not only the vision, but also the political courage to confront national public opinion still traumatised by years of war and to convince the people of Europe to extend a hand to their former enemies.

The dream of the founders of the EU has mostly been realised. Today war between EU countries is unthinkable. The European continent is at peace and 28 democratic countries have been unified into one single market representing the world’s largest economic block. There can be no doubt that the EU over the years has been, and still is, facing a number of serious challenges. But so far the Union has shown its resilience and its capacity to find common solutions to common problems.

One of the key features of the EU is solidarity. A large portion of the EU budget is spent on programmes aimed at reducing economic disparities between EU countries, between regions and between peoples. Solidarity is a means to achieve prosperity for everyone in the EU. Interestingly, for the Europeans, solidarity is not limited to the EU territory. A recent survey shows that the large majority of EU citizens want the EU to be even more active in supporting the development of other countries around the world. 85% of them say it is important to help people in developing countries and 67% think that EU development assistance should be increased.

Europe Day is an opportunity to take stock of the relationship between the EU and Pakistan. In many respects, the EU and Pakistan are bound together by a shared history and by common goals and shared values. Many Pakistanis have found a home in Europe and are valued members of our societies. We are committed to the pursuit of democracy, economic development and peace. And we are joining hands to promote global sustainable economic development and growth through international trade.**