Proclaiming “Europe is our common future,” 27 leaders of the European Union signed a statement on 25 March in Rome declaring their commitment to integrating the Continent even as a series of crises has weakened the efforts and Britain prepares to leave the bloc.
The statement, known as the Rome Declaration and signed on the anniversary of the day the bloc’s foundations were laid 60 years ago, underscored the aspirations of a “unique union with common institutions and strong values, a community of peace, freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”
The ceremony took place in the same room where the Treaty of Rome was signed on 25th March 1957, by six European countries.
“Today in Rome we are renewing the unique alliance of free nations that was initiated 60 years ago by our great predecessors,” said EU President Donald Tusk.
All 27 European Union Member States have signed the Declaration of Rome while admitting that the Union had made mistakes in the past and it was their duty to deliver a more social Europe to its citizens.