On 9 May, Lagos hosted the Algarve commemorations of Europe Day, which took place on the themes of the Sea, the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome and the 30th anniversary of the Erasmus programme.
The initiative and invitation came from the Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) of the Algarve, having included more protocol ceremonies, as well as peddy papers, visits and a concert.
The Europe Day commemorative program, co-organized by the Municipality of Lagos, the CCDR Algarve, the Center Europe Direct Algarve and the Regional Operational Program CRESC Algarve 2020, began at Praça Gil Eanes, with Hastear das Bandeiras, accompanied by for the interpretation of the Anthem of Europe by the Banda Filarmónica Lacobrigense 1º de Maio.
This was followed by official speeches by the mayors of Lagos and CCDRA, Maria Joaquina Matos and Francisco Serra.
“Today, more than at any other time, it is of special importance for us to celebrate Europe”, said the mayor of Lagos, noting that “commemorating this day is special, as we celebrate 60 years of the Treaty of Rome, founder of the integration project that consolidated itself in a project of cooperation and solidarity, in a space that guaranteed peace and prosperity, in a space that has been expanding over the decades and that continues to constitute itself as a guarantee of freedom, democracy, a space without borders, which it respects the different identities, a welcoming space for the most varied and different peoples who have sought to build their own life project here”.
For Maria Joaquina Matos, there is no doubt that “we are the largest economy in the world, privileged partners in trade relations, the largest space for humanitarian aid and concerned with a sustainable future in defense of the environment”.
Even so, he could not fail to mention that "in recent years we have lived through difficult times, of strong ideological confrontation", expressing in this regard his "rejoicing for the electoral result in France, which ended up giving victory to the European project".
Recalling that the Portuguese joined Europe in 1986, “in a great political challenge of national leaders at the time”, the mayor highlighted the figure of Mário Soares, “whom I pay tribute here and today. To him, and to all who accompanied him, we must be grateful”.
31 years after Portugal joined Europe, the mayor of Lagos argued that “our country plays an important role in Europe. Today we assume an active role, we stand out not only for our strategic location, history and climate, but for our vision, entrepreneurship, excellence in the services and work we provide. The future of Europe is in our hands”.
This opinion was shared by the president of CCDR Algarve, who defended from the outset that commemorating Europe Day “is not only an act of confidence and affirmation in the sense of citizenship, but it is also essential that we manage to transmit that spirit. Europe is being built daily, and we have struggled a lot to assert itself, and we must continue to do so, always guided by values such as fraternity, social cohesion, inclusion and international solidarity”.
Thanking the Municipality of Lagos, in the person of its president, for the municipality's collaboration in co-organizing these commemorations, Francisco Serra recalled that “celebrating Europe Day is also to evoke the paths of globalization. And it was exactly here in Lagos that the globalization movement began, which, nowadays, we always associate with the discovery and sharing of knowledge”.
For the president of the CCDR, the most important thing is the awareness-raising work that must be done so that “all Portuguese can be aware of what it really means to belong to this great space – Europe –, which is basically a living laboratory. of society, where we can live, learn and build every day”.
And on this specific point, Francisco Serra referred that “the local authorities also have an active role, which must be played daily, since they are the bodies with the greatest proximity to their populations”. With regard to the role of institutions at a more regional level, such as the CCDR Algarve, the person responsible for this body also made it clear that “we have been working to qualitatively contribute to the improvement of territories with the greatest difficulties, especially the more rural ones, making use of the community funds for which we can apply”.
Finally, that responsible left an appeal to all present for "greater commitment to the preservation and growth of the European spirit", reaffirming "the commitment in the effort to value our region so that we can have a better quality of life, better jobs and that we can be proud, every day, in belonging to this Europe”.
The official ceremony, at Praça Gil Eanes, ended with the performance “Daqui departam caravels”, by Manuel Neto dos Santos. The morning also included a visit to projects in Lagos co-funded by the Regional PO (Church of Santo António / Dr. José Formosinho and Muralhas Municipal Museum) and was punctuated with some initiatives aimed at younger audiences.
In the afternoon, in the auditorium of Paços do Concelho Séc. XXI, the Ris3Azul conference was held, where regional choices were debated, embodied in the Regional Strategy for Research and Innovation for Intelligent Specialization (RIS3 Algarve), in ongoing projects, in positioning of the Algarve in the Common Fisheries Policy and in valuing the resources of the Sea.
Europe Day closed with a “golden key” at the Centro Cultural de Lagos, where a concert open to the population took place, by the Academy of Music of Lagos, with the Orquestra de Sopros do Algarve.
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