Europe day celebration 2010 – richness of events

The 2010 Europe Day and the 60th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration were celebrated with 35 events which took place in the period between 27 April and 27 May. The celebration included various activities and partners which were announced at a special press conference which took place at the EU InfoCentre on 23 April 2010.

The main event targeting the general public was the multi-media European Happening which this year took place in Struga (7 May). The pupils of Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish ethnicity in Struga presented the EU and the cultures of the EU Member States through promotional materials provided by the embassies as well as their own creations displayed on stands. About 2000 spectators had the opportunity to listen to the performances of well-known bands and singers.

Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, the Deputy Prime Minister Vasko Naumovski and the Mayor of Struga Ramiz Merko addressed the citizens of Struga, greeted the participants and welcomed the celebration of the 60th anniversary of 9 May, the day that Robert Schuman presented in Paris the declaration which led to the creation of what is now the European Union. In addition to the main happening in Struga, similar gatherings were organised by all the EU Info Points throughout the country (located in the municipalities of Kumanovo, Gostivar, Kocani, Bitola, Kavadarci and Veles)

Panel discussions on various themes were held in collaboration with the municipalities of Negotino (30 April), Kumanovo (3 May), Kriva Palanka (5 May), Tetovo (7 May) and Debar (13 May). The Ambassador, mayors, experts, NGO representatives and young people participated in the debates and discussed the following topics: 1)”European standards for the protection of the environment – waste management treatment in Negotino”; “Macedonia on the road to the EU – challenges and dilemmas”; “Decentralization and regional development”; “Civil society organisations-challenge for United Europe” and “2010 – European year for combating poverty and social exclusion”. Representatives of the municipalities, the business community, civil society organisations and the general public also attended the debates. Ambassador Fouéré also held lectures to students in primary schools and universities.

The local European Movement organised the traditional European Flag Day, which took place on 1 May this year. Ambassador Fouéré, together with the President of the European Movement, took the European and Macedonian flags to the top of Vodno.

As part of the visits to the municipalities, the Ambassador visited the Veterinary and Phytosanitary Border Inspection Post in Tabanovce, the Police Development Assistance Project and the Tetovo Police Station Renovation Project.

On 4 May, the Ambassador, the Minister of Environment and the Mayor of Kavadarci, officially promoted the regulation of a part of the bed of the Luda Mara River in the centre of Kavadarci, located in the south of the country.

The Skopje Municipality of Centar organised the fourth annual race of waiters and waitresses in the main pedestrian zone of Skopje. The winners were presented with a cup by the Mayor of Centar Municipality and the Ambassador. During this event, children from schools in the centre of Skopje presented their drawings, posters and other works related to the European Union.

The Skopje Marathon remains to be one of the most successful activities in the Europe Day programme. The number of runners doubled in comparison to last year (it has increased from 1,300 in 2009 to 2,600 in 2010). The participants in all three races were from Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Belgium, Norway, the United Kingdom, Spain, Finland, Poland, Morocco, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, France and the host country.

This year, for the first time, the Delegation organised Open Sky concerts of classical music, performed by young students from the Music and Ballet School Centre "Ilija Nikolovski Luj", in 5 municipalities in Skopje. These events were an excellent opportunity for the citizens of Skopje to celebrate European culture. On the afternoon of 9 May, the Mayor of Aerodrom Municipality and the Ambassador joined the citizens of Aerodrom in celebrating the music of Bach, Pachelbel, Piazzola, Joplin, Virtner, Copeland, Von Webber, Banchieri and others.

The traditional Europe Day Reception took place at the magnificent Kursumli An, in the old part of the city, with over 600 guests representing the Government, the Parliament, local authorities, the international community, civil society, the business community, religious communities, academics, the media and so on. This year's Reception marked the 60th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. The guests had the opportunity to recall the most important moments of the European Union's history on a video projection together with the enchanting music of Frédéric Chopin, in honour of the 200th anniversary of his birth. The video clip included images of the most important events in the country’s relations with the European Union.

On 6 May, the European Business Association organised the "European Day of the Entrepreneur",where representatives of the business community, the government, and international and local experts had the opportunity to discuss the development of entrepreneurship within the European integration process.

On 11 May, representatives from the media, broadcasters, the Ministry of Education, schools, teachers, public and private stakeholders dealing with energy, water and public health watched a pre-launch presentation of one episode of the cartoon series "My friend Boo". This audio-visual project is financed by the EU Delegation and will be broadcast on two TV stations in Macedonian and Albanian as of autumn. 

Similarly to previous years, the Delegation supported the traditional May Opera Evenings , organised by the Macedonian Opera and Ballet, as well as the traditional Annual Matriculation Dance (21 May). The Delegation also supported the VI International Film Festival Euro-Atlantic Film Sign Post – ASTERFEST in Strumica and the Film Festival “One Europe, one culture, one cinema” in Skopje.