Malta celebrations of EU's golden jubilee

Malta yesterday joined the other 26 member states of the European Union to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which gave birth to the Union.

Foreign Minister Michael Frendo, accompanied by ambassadors and honorary consuls representing the member states, yesterday evening inaugurated an EU Peace Grove at Hastings Gardens in Valletta.

The ceremony including the playing of the Maltese and European anthems as well as the cutting of cakes to mark the event. The Foreign Ministry was also open to the public yesterday.

EU leaders, including Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, yesterday gathered in Berlin together with German Chancellor Angela Merkel since Germany currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

The leaders proclaimed what will be known as the Declaration of Berlin (see page one), which marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and plots the course for the future EU.

The celebrations continue in Malta this morning with Thanksgiving Mass at St John's Co-Cathedral and ecumenical prayers.

Today also sees the conclusion of the three-day festival in Nadur funded by the European Parliament and organised by the local council.

As well as exhibitions, folk dances, and a traditional market in the main square, Italian performer Riccardo Fogli will be taking to the stage. There will also be a concert at Nadur Basilica.

The European Parliament office in Malta and the Forum Malta in Europe have also set up two exhibitions in Valletta.

An outdoor exhibition of 18 posters by young Maltese journalists and designers was put up in Great Siege Square on Friday and will run till Europe Day on May 9.

Thirty-four banners have also been put up along Republic Street with portraits and quotations from 17 personalities who made a contribution to the Construction of Europe including the founders like Robert Schuman and Winston Churchill and contemporaries like Czech President Vaclav Havel, former European Commission president Jacques Delors and even Pope John Paul II who is credited with bringing together East and West.