EUROPE DAY

EUROPE DAY

​History of the European Union

​The history of the flag goes back to 1955. The Council of Europe - which defends human rights and promotes European culture – adopted the design for its own use. In the years that followed, it urged the European institutions to adopt the same flag. In 1983, the European Parliament decided that the Communities’ flag should be that used by the Council of Europe. In 1985, it was adopted by all EU leaders as the official emblem of the European Communities, later to become the European Union. In addition, all European institutions now have their own emblems.

​Robert Schuman was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. He was a political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a reformist Minister of Finance and a Foreign Minister, he was instrumental in building post-war European and trans-Atlantic institutions and was one of the founders of the European Union, the Council of Europe and NATO.
On 9 May 1950, he announced the principles of supranational democracy in what has become known as the Schuman Declaration.

​The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation that aimed to bring about economic integration among its member states. It was created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957. Upon the formation of the European Union (EU) in 1993, the EEC was incorporated and renamed the European Community (EC). In 2009, the EC's institutions were absorbed into the European Union's wider framework and the community ceased to exist.

​In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community (EEC) and established a customs union.

​1973: DK, IE, UK
1981: GR
1986: ES, PT
1995: AT, FI, SE
2004: CZ, CY, EE, HU, LV, LT, MT, PL, SK, SI
2007: BG, RO
2013: HR

​The fall of the Berlin Wall, on 9 November 1989, was a pivotal event in world and European history which marked the falling of the Iron Curtain and the start of the fall of communism in Eastern and Central Europe. An end to the Cold War was declared at the Malta Summit three weeks later, and the reunification of Germany took place in October the following year.

​"Anthem of Europe" is the organisational anthem used by the Council of Europe to represent Europe as a whole and the European Union. It is based on "Ode to Joy" from the final movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony composed in 1823, and is played on official occasions by both organisations. It was officially announced as the European Anthem on 19 January 1972 at Strasbourg.

​Every time new members have joined the EU, they have added to the number of official languages.
The 24 languages are: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish.
The working languages of the EU are English, French and German.

Multiple Choice

What is the meaning of the twelve stars on the European flag?

• Twelve stars because there were twelve apostles

• They stand for the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe

• The number of countries that were part of the EU when it was created

• The circle of life

Multiple Choice

What was the original name of the European Union?

• The European Economic Community

• The United States of Europe

• The European Coal and Steel Community

• The European Friendship Association

Multiple Choice

Who was Robert Schuman?

• The French top scorer of the 1958 World Cup

• The French President during World War II

• One of the Founding Fathers of the European Union

• The architect of the Headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels known as the Berlaymont Building.

Multiple Choice

Which countries are the 6 founding members of the European Union?

• Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, West Germany

• Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, West Germany

• Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, West Germany

• Algeria, Austria, France, Sweden, The Netherlands, West Germany

Multiple Choice

In which years did the other 22 Member States join?

• 1914, 1961, 1984, 1995, 2004, 2007, 2013

• 1973, 1981, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2007, 2013

• 1949, 1975, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2007, 2013

• 1969, 1981, 1986, 1995, 2000, 2007, 2020

Multiple Choice

What important event happened on 9 November 1989?

• George H.W. Bush became the 41st President of the United States

• A new order, the fall of the Berlin Wall

• Taylor Swift was born

• Nicolae Ceaușescu the Communist leader of Romania was captured

Multiple Choice

Who is the composer of the Anthem of Europe?

• Stromae

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• Maurice Ravel

• Ludwig von Beethoven

Multiple Choice

‘How many official languages do we have in the EU?

• 3

• 24

• 25

• 27