Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, among others, admire the Europe Day 2025 cake;
Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu
This year's official Europe Day festivities took place in Echternach on Saturday 10 May 2025.
On the agenda were concerts, dance performances and other fun activities, as well as official speeches. Food was also available.
As noted by the Representation of the European Commission in Luxembourg after the event, the proximity of Echternach to Germany and the involvement of the city of Trier, neighbouring German towns and the Representation of the European Commission in Germany in Bonn added a "vibrant cross-border dimension" to the celebrations.
The official guests included Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, the President of the Chamber of Deputies (parliament), Claude Wiseler, Luxembourg government ministers and representatives of the European institutions. After the official ceremony, the Grand Duke visited the European Village stands.
Europe Day 2025 celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration - a key proposal put forward by Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950, laying the foundations for long-term unity and cooperation in Europe.
To mark this occasion, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Luxembourg on Friday 9 May 2025. They walked together with Prime Minister Luc Frieden through Luxembourg City, with stops at symbolic sites in the history of European integration. These included Maison Schuman (the home where Robert Schuman grew up) in Luxembourg-Clausen and the headquarters of the Spuerkeess (BCEE) bank at 2 Place de Metz in Luxembourg-Gare - this was once the headquarters of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) (and later the offices of the European Investment Bank (EIB)).
(Pictured above: Roberta Metsola, European Parliament President; António Costa, European Council President; Luc Frieden, Luxembourg's Prime Minister; Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President; © SIP / Emmanuel Claude)
