Europe Day in the context of "European Coal and Steel Community"

The Schuman Declaration, or Schuman Plan, was a proposal to place French and West German production of coal and steel under a single authority that later became the European Coal and Steel Community, made by the French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, on 9 May 1950 (now celebrated in the EU as Europe Day), the day after the fifth anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. The alliance would later be opened to other European countries. The ultimate goal was to pacify relations, especially between France and West Germany, through gradual political integration to be achieved by creating common interests. Schuman said that "[t]he coming together of the countries of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany ... the solidarity in production thus established will make it plain that any war between France and Germany becomes not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible."

Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, responded positively to the Declaration, as did the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg. On 18 April 1951, the six founding members signed the Treaty of Paris. It created the European Coal and Steel Community – Europe's first supranational community, which paved the way for the European Economic Community and subsequently the European Union.

The Black Ribbon Day, officially known in the European Union as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism and also referred to as the Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, is an international day of remembrance for victims of totalitarianism regimes, specifically Stalinist, communist, Nazi and fascist regimes. Formally recognised by the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and some other countries, it is observed on 23 August. It symbolises the rejection of "extremism, intolerance and oppression" according to the European Union. The purpose of the Day of Remembrance is to preserve the memory of the victims of mass deportations and exterminations, while promoting democratic values to reinforce peace and stability in Europe. It is one of the two official remembrance days or observances of the European Union, alongside Europe Day. Under the name Black Ribbon Day it is an official remembrance day of Canada. The European Union has used both names alongside each other.

The remembrance day has its origins in Cold War-era protests in Western countries against the Soviet Union, which gained prominence in the years leading up to the Revolutions of 1989 and that inspired the 1989 Baltic Way, a major demonstration where two million people joined their hands to call for an end to the Soviet occupation. Canadian and other Western communities of refugees from the Soviet Union were instrumental in establishing the remembrance day in 1986. It was proposed as an official European remembrance day by Václav Havel, Joachim Gauck and a group of human rights activists and former political prisoners from Central and Eastern Europe during a conference organised by the Czech Government, and was formally designated by the European Parliament in 2008/2009 as "a Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, to be commemorated with dignity and impartiality"; it has been observed annually by the institutions of the European Union since 2009. The European Parliament's 2009 resolution on European conscience and totalitarianism, co-sponsored by the European People's Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, The Greens–European Free Alliance, and the Union for Europe of the Nations, called for its implementation in all of Europe. The establishment of 23 August as an international remembrance day for victims of totalitarianism was also supported by the 2009 Vilnius Declaration of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) is a European Union (EU) mechanism aimed at increasing direct democracy by enabling "EU citizens to participate directly in the development of EU policies", introduced with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. This popular initiative enables one million citizens of the European Union, with a minimum number of nationals from at least seven member states, to call directly on the European Commission to propose a legal act (notably a Directive or Regulation) in an area where the member states have conferred powers onto the EU level. This right to request the commission to initiate a legislative proposal puts citizens on the same footing as the European Parliament and the European Council, who enjoy this right according to Articles 225 and 241 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TEFU). The commission holds the right of initiative in the EU.[1] The first registered ECI, Fraternité 2020, was initiated on 9 May 2012 (Europe Day), although the first submitted ECI (but second registered) was One Single Tariff.

Liberation Day (Jèrriais: Jour d'la Libéthâtion; Guernésiais: Lé Jour dé la Libératiaon) is the national day of both Guernsey and Jersey, the two largest of the Channel Islands, which takes place on 9 May each year. It commemorates the liberation of the Channel Islands on 9 May 1945, which marked the end of the islands' occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II. It falls on the same day as the European Union's Europe Day, which celebrates post-World War II peace and European unity. 9 May is a public holiday in both islands and each has different celebrations and commemorative events; the centrepiece of Jersey's is the Liberation Day re-enactment in the Liberation Square, while Guernsey's is an islandwide cavalcade of classic vehicles.

One Single Tariff (official name "Single Communication Tariff Act") is a European Citizens' Initiative against roaming in Europe. One Single Tariff's precise objective is to erase all barriers to phone calls within the EU by ending all roaming fees. It is the second European Citizens' Initiative to have been registered, on May 10, 2012, just one day after the initiative Fraternité 2020, which was presented by the European Commission on Europe Day. To be successful, it had to collect 1 million signatures before December 3, 2013, but it failed.