Europe and Europeans : 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration : the exhibition

2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, a short but powerful statement made by the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, on the 9th of May 1950. The declaration, inspired by Jean Monnet and drafted by Schuman and his close advisers, initiated the process of European integration with its vision of a joint French and German coal and steel production. This venture would be managed by a common High Authority, within the framework of an organisation open to the participation of other European countries. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established in 1951 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany: for the first time, national States decided to transfer some sovereign rights to a new supranational institution. The exhibition "Europe and Europeans 1950>2020: 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration" sets out to raise awareness of the importance of the Schuman Declaration within the history of European integration, to stimulate reflection on its relevance in today's Europe, and to encourage debate on the history of the European Union (EU) and its future. The visitor is encouraged to take a journey through European history, which develops into two distinct but inter-connecting paths. The first path is guided by key sentences of the Declaration that give the title to five thematic sections. Through a selection of images and documents held in the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), the visitor can experience some of the most relevant political, economic, social and cultural developments of the last 70 years of European history.