On March 25, 2007, the 27 member states of the European Union will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome, considered the birthday of the European Union. What began as the European Economic Community on March 25, 1957, has grown into a union of 27 Member States. After so many painful years of war, expulsion and suffering, this European family now unites the continent in peace and ensures a level of prosperity and stability previously unknown in the history of this continent. The EU has also emerged as a global trading power and an influential player in international politics.
The German jurist Walter Hallstein played a major role in the 1950s in laying the foundations for the European Economic Community, and in 1958 he became the first President of the European Commission in Brussels.
Large-scale celebrations will take place in Berlin, Rome and Brussels, but EU embassies and representatives around the world will also join in the festivities.
"We Germans have benefited greatly from European unification. That is why we are particularly pleased that the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome falls during our EU Council Presidency."
Today, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony not only belongs to the classic works in symphonic music. The famous choral part in the final movement, with the text from poet Friedrich Schiller's "An die Freude" (Ode to Joy), has also been the European Union's official anthem since 1985.
The Treaties of Rome in 1957 created our European family. Fifty years later, we are coming ever closer together. Fifty years later, we have a lot to celebrate. EU 50th Anniversary Website
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