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German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth: "All DC Residents and Visitors are invited to Explore Europe in DC at the EU Open House"

German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth

When the Embassies of the European Union member states open their doors to the public on Saturday, May 12, for the EU Open House, they will have a neighborly welcome for visitors from the District and around the region.

“We hope that all of our neighbors here in Washington will join us at the European Embassies for a day of fun, culture, and learning,” said German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, whose Embassy is planning the EU Open House under the aegis of Germany’s six-month Presidency of the European Union. “I also hope that we diplomats will be able to engage our fellow Washington residents in a conversation about the city, and the world that we share,” continued Scharioth, who first came to America as an exchange student in Idaho in the 1960s.

Over 20 EU Member States and the Washington Delegation of the European Commission will offer a colorful program that highlights national cuisines, arts, and languages, as well as the history of the European Union.

“We want to put both the diversity of Europe and the unity of Europe on display,” Scharioth said. The 27-member union recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome, which launched the process of European integration.

The importance of transatlantic relations will also figure large in the proceedings on May 12. Ambassador Scharioth called the European Union a “tremendous success story,” but said that European unity would not have been possible without strong support from the United States, recalling leaders from Harry Truman to George H. W. Bush, who supported European recovery and integration from the end of World War II through the fall of the Berlin Wall and on to today.

“This first-ever EU Open House, truly a day of open doors, is an excellent way for the EU to share Europe’s story of diversity, integration, and peace with our Washington neighbors, and I hope that many will take advantage of it,” Ambassador Scharioth said.

Stay updated by checking www.europe-in-dc.com regularly for news and program highlights. The participants page will include links to participating embassies' schedules of events, and the program page will outline don't-miss events at various embassies.