The Head of Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Geert Heikens and his wife Mrs. Rita Heikens hosted a cocktail reception at their residence last evening to celebrate Europe Day. The European nations have, over the centuries, been instrumental in creating many changes in the global demographics and the physical and social landscape of the world, many times earning themselves much antipathy from once-colonized nations. However, there is no doubt that their imprint has been left, many times for the ultimate good, on nations the world over, and throughout the ages, as they have battled to salvage their tarnished images – singly and collectively, they have contributed, most often significantly and meaningfully, to the development paradigms of Third World countries.
Guyana has been a beneficiary of the grace and grants of European nation states, and over time, there has evolved a relationship of trust and friendship – as well as respect.  This was proven when the European Union acceded, albeit at the last moment, to
Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo’s unrelenting stance for amended provisions on the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and CARIFORUM.
Norway’s partnership with Guyana on the Low Carbon Development Strategy is another case in point.
Ambassador Geert  Heikens has proven himself a great friend of Guyana and has by now become almost Guyanese; and it is a certainty that he will not leave Guyana’s shores without a great deal of regret when it is time for him to go.
Europe Day and the European Union have their genesis in a proposal by Robert Schuman, on May 9, 1950, for the creation of an organized Europe to promulgate peaceful relations worldwide. This proposal was known as the “Schuman Declaration”.

At that time in history, Robert Schuman was the French Foreign Minister and the declaration was issued against the backdrop of the threat of a Third World War.

During the Milan Summit of EU leaders in 1985, it was decided to celebrate 9 May as “Europe Day”, and every country that democratically chooses to accede to the European Union endorses its fundamental values of peace and solidarity.

The Europa website states, “These values find expression through economic and social development embracing environmental and regional dimensions, which are the guarantees of a decent standard of living for all citizens”.

It continues, “While Europe, as such, has existed for centuries, the elements which united it, in the absence of rules and institutions, have in the past been insufficient to prevent the most appalling tragedies.

“The integration of Europe will not come about in one day, or even in a few decades.
Deficiencies are still numerous and there are evident imperfections. The project, which begun just after the Second World War, is still very new. In the past, efforts at European union were based on domination of one group over another. These attempts could not last, because those who had been conquered had only one aspiration: to regain their freedom.

“Today’s ambition is completely different: to build a Europe which respects freedom and the identity of all of the people which compose it. Only by uniting its peoples can Europe control the mastery of its destiny and develop a positive role in the world.

“The European Union is at the service of its citizens. While keeping their own specific values, customs and language, European citizens should feel at ease in the “European home”.
The Schuman Declaration of May 9 1950, states, in part, “World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it.”
The European Union continually strives to adhere to the guiding principles as contained in the Schuman Declaration, and it is the spirit and the fact of the principles of the declaration that are celebrated on Europe Day each year.