Hi there,
Today is Europe Day!
It is celebrated on May 9th each year and commemorates the historic Schuman Declaration of 1950, a proposal by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman that laid the foundation for what would become the European Union.
Just a year after Robert Schuman's historic declaration, six states - Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany - signed the Paris Agreement (Traité de Paris), marking the birth of the European Coal and Steel Community (Communauté Européenne du Charbon et de l'Acier), which later evolved into the European Economic Community (Communauté Économique Européenne), then into the European Union (Union Européenne).
Today, the European Union encompasses 27 member states. 20 of which have adopted the Euro (€), introduced in 1999, as their official currency.
Do you remember when 10 states (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) joined the European Union on the same day? This took place on May 1st, 2004. I remember this very clearly!
Europe has a rich linguistic diversity, with over 200 languages spoken across the continent, reflecting centuries of cultural heritage and historical influences.
Did you know that on OLS, we have taster online language courses for all major European languages ?
If you feel like learning any of them, you can access the taster course by clicking on a language of your interest below:
Happy learning and happy Europe day!
Lilas, OLS Community Manager — French
Source: Unsplash