EUROPE DAY
THE EU ADHERES TO THE MARIA DOLENS MEMORANDUM

 Europe Day means Peace Day, since the two are closely linked and have been from the beginning, ever since that distant, but not too far 1950, when the Second World War had recently ended and in all the chancelleries of the old continent there was the risk of falling back into a global conflict. seconda guerra mondiale era finita da poco e in tutte le cancellerie del vecchio continente ci si confrontava con il rischio di ricadere di nuovo in un conflitto globale.

On 9 May of that year, in Paris, the press was convened for six in the evening at the Quai d'Orsay. A communication of the utmost importance was planned.

The European flag is the hundredth flag to be raised on the Colle di Miravalle

The first words of the speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Schuman, were enough to understand that it would be a date to remember. «World Peace could not be safeguarded without creative initiatives at the height of the dangers that threaten us. By pooling certain basic areas of production and establishing a new High Authority whose decisions will be binding for France, Germany and the countries that join them, the first concrete foundations of a European federation indispensable for safeguarding Peace will be created». In essence, the idea was to set up a supranational institution with which to entrust the management of those raw materials which at the time were the prerequisite of any military power: coal and steel. That date is still celebrated today in Brussels, while the Council of Europe celebrates the anniversary of its establishment in 1949 on May 5 with the same purposes.

The European flag is the hundredth to be raised at the Rovereto Peace Bell, set for 9 May. The moment could not be more tragic, but neither could it be better suited to remembering that we are working against war even before missiles are launched and anti-aircraft alarms begin to tear the hearts and ears of the civilian population.

Moreover, already in the first sentence of the introduction to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, proclaimed on 7 December 2000 in Nice and adopted on 12 December 2007 in Strasbourg, it is clarified that «the populations of Europe, in creating an ever-closer union, have decided to share a future of Peace». But not only that, «the Union is founded on the indivisible and universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity». Furthermore, «the principle of democracy and the principle of the rule of law, places the person at the centre of its action by establishing Union citizenship and creating an area of freedom, security and justice».

The path is clear, the objectives precise, it is a question of working consistently. As is the case with the «We are Europa Festival», for example, from 13 to 14 May in Trento, and in particular the Bell on 9 May, with the integration of the European Union to its Peace Memorandum. Together with the Foundation President, Marco Marsilli, and local and international authorities, hundreds of students will arrive in front of Maria Dolens, students who have approached the event in different ways, but have all been able to deepen the meaning of the anniversary. Three groups of schools are involved, each with a different goal. The first is part of the so-called «Ambassadors Project», organized together with the Fondazione Antonio Megalizzi (Antonio Megalizzi Foundation), in which the children will simulate the work of a Parliament, covering the roles of deputies, journalists, technicians and even lobbyists. One way to understand how politics works, to avoid trivialization and not give in to the temptation to assume that "politicians are all the same". Another group, made up of international students, was able to follow an innovative educational program relative to citizenship education, thanks to the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence established by the University of Trento. Rovereto schools representing the territory will also be involved. To students and adults alike, actors will depict the lives of the founding fathers of the Union. The accession ceremony will then follow in which Michele Nicoletti, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2018 will be present alongside President Marsilli.

Listening to the notes of the European anthem, while the flag is raised, will provide you with the opportunity to reflect on the fact that nothing is taken for granted, nothing is free, that someone before us has earned peace and that a united Europe is the only tool that we have with which to keep this peace.