Over 300 guests attended the event, including Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, other ministers of government, members of parliament, senior government officials, members of the diplomatic and consular corps, representatives from civil society organisations, EU partners, friends and well-wishers. 

EU Delegation Jamaica

In her speech to the gathering, European Union Ambassador to Jamaica, Marianne Van Steen said despite the current challenges to peace and security, including Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, the European Union remains resolute in its defense of the values of the Schuman Declaration, which gave birth to the European Union.

“Believe me we will not resile from our commitment to promote and preserve peace in Europe and the world. And we will do all that is within our capacity to turn nature more friendly to us,” Ambassador Van Steen stated.

She celebrated the fact that there are still countries like Jamaica with people and leaders who share a commitment to the values that the EU holds dear, including peace, human dignity, freedom, democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

Minister Kamina Johnson Smith in her remarks, pointed to the enduring relevance of the Schuman Declaration and the values the EU upholds even in the current context.

EU Delegation Jamaica

“As wars and conflicts rage across the globe, in the Middle East and Africa, the international community continues to count on the EU and its core belief in peace, to assist in returning to the world to a place in which peaceful settlement of disputes and reliance on a rules-based multilateral system, guide us all.  Jamaica shares in these valued principles and is committed to doing our part,” she said.

Reflecting on the partnership between Jamaica and the EU, which began in 1975, Minister Johnson Smith acknowledged the EU’s extensive international development cooperation programmes that have provided tremendous support to developing countries, like Jamaica.

“Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Jamaica and the EU 49 years ago, the EU has supported Jamaica’s economic growth and development, in critical areas including agriculture, the cultural and creative industries, environment and climate change, citizen security and justice and, most recently, digital transformation,” she stated.

EU Delegation Jamaica

Europe Day has its origins in the desire for peace and prosperity for the people of Europe and beyond. It honours the legacy of a former French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman who on May 9, 1950 proposed a form of cooperation that would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable.

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