Valletta, Nadur mark EU's birth

Anybody who's after a crash course in the history of the European Union needs only walk along Republic Street, in Valletta, to be taken through the events that marked the past five decades.

Great Siege Square (in front of the law courts) has been transformed into an EU history book.

The posters were put up to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome, which led to European integration and the EU as we know it today.

Apart from information about the EU, the posters - designed by Maltese journalists and designers - highlight other milestones in the past decades, including the opening of EuroDisney and the start of Beetlemania.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo yesterday morning, following a Thanksgiving Mass at St John's Co-Cathedral, in Valletta. Concelebrated by Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Mercieca, the Mass was said in Maltese, English, German and Latin.

Republic Street got a taste of the celebrations - the La Valette Band brought added cheer to the city's main thoroughfare, which is lined with banners carrying photos and quotations of 17 personalities who contributed to the European Constitution. The band concluded the morning march at Great Siege Square, with the EU anthem and the national anthem of Malta.

In Nadur, spirits were also high as three days of celebrations came to a close yesterday evening with a concert by Italian singer Riccardo Fogli. The Nadur local council got €68,000 from the European Parliament to hold the celebrations, mayor Chris Said said.