On Europe Day, we say great strides have been made towards a new relationship. We all want a strong EU and a strong UK
- The authors are UK-based ambassadors and high commissioners representing Brussels and EU member countries
- EU leaders set out hopes for post-Brexit relations with Britain
On 9 May, the European Union celebrates Europe Day. On this same day in 1950, in the aftermath of the devastating second world war, Robert Schuman, the foreign minister of France, proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community. His goal was to build a Europe free from conflict, based on economic cooperation and integration. This, he knew, had to be done step by step.
Moving well beyond coal and steel, those old engines of economic progress, the EU is engaged today in most areas of human activity, including the fight against the climate crisis, the development and regulation of AI, and the use of outer space.
The authors are UK-based ambassadors and high commissioners representing Brussels and 27 member countries:
European Union: Pedro Serrano
Austria: Michael Zimmermann
Belgium: Bruno van der Pluijm
Bulgaria: Marin Raykov
Croatia: Igor Pokaz
Cyprus: Andreas S Kakouris
Czech Republic: Marie Chatardova
Denmark: René Dinesen
Estonia: Viljar Lubi
Finland: Jukka Siukosaari
France: Hélène Tréheux-Duchêne
Germany: Miguel Berger
Greece: Yannis Tsaousis
Hungary: Ferenc Kumin
Ireland: Martin Fraser
Italy: Inigo Lambertini
Latvia: Ivita Burmistre
Lithuania: Eitvydas Bajarūnas
Luxembourg: Georges Friden
Malta: Emmanuel Mallia
Netherlands: Karel van Oosterom
Poland: Piotr Wilczek
Portugal: Nuno Brito
Romania: Laura Popescu
Slovakia: Robert Ondrejcsak
Slovenia: Simona Leskovar
Spain: José Pascual Marco
Sweden: Mikaela Kumlin Granit
