Bo-'M'e le Bo-Ntate, 

Kajeno, ka la 9 Motšeanong, European Union e keteka letsatsi la Europe lefatšeng ka bophara. Re keteka kopano ea rona, hose tšoane ha rona, le likatleho tsa rona.

(Today, 9th of May, the European Union celebrates the Europe Day over the world. It is a day to celebrate our unity, our diversity and our achievements).

In 1950 the historic 'Schuman declaration' steered Europe towards a path of peace, prosperity and political cooperation in a continent then ravaged by the aftermath of the Second World War. That Declaration set out an idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe's nations unthinkable. 

From the six initial countries that kick-started this journey, now, 75 years later, 27 countries form the European Union. 27 countries came together to make things better, easier and safer for people. They agreed to work together and help each other. More countries aspire to join the EU – nine are current candidates – among them, Ukraine – and one, Kosovo, is a potential candidate. 

This year more than ever, it is important to recall that the European Union is committed to peace, partnership, and cooperation — within our borders and worldwide. 

We are witnessing a rapidly changing world, becoming every day more fragmented and unpredictable. The ongoing conflicts ravaging Ukraine, the Middle East, and other regions in the globe reveal the fragile nature of peace and security, reminding us of the crucial need to invest in their preservation and enhancement. 

Even when faced with the greatest challenges, the European Union stands for unity in diversity — which is our motto – working with our partners worldwide to promote open dialogue, shared stability and prosperity as well as universal values. 

The EU stands firm on values. Universal values we have built together in the UN since 1945. 

The EU is a reliable partner and together with our 27 Member States, we invest in mutually beneficial relations based on trust and respect. 

While adapting to new political realities, we defend and promote a rules-based international order, not the law of the strongest. We push to strengthen the role of global institutions and we keep our commitment to multilateralism, with the UN fully empowered to find solutions to the challenges faced by humanity. 

International cooperation nowadays has turned into global competition. The European Union is however continuing to engage with countries around the world. Working on solutions and building partnerships remains key. 

The European Union has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last decades, achieving significant political, economic, and social progress.

Opportunities for both people and business have grown. 450 million Europeans benefit from the freedom to move, reside, study, or work throughout the entire EU. Citizens have now stronger rights and freedoms, and live in democratic societies. 

The EU holds the position as the largest trade bloc worldwide. As the world's top exporter of goods and services, it also acts as the largest import market for over 100 countries.   

Clear, predictable conditions are essential for trade and supply chains to function and more than ever, efforts are needed to stabilise the global economy and not to put at risk millions of jobs. 

Europe is reliable, predictable and open for fair business. Europe already has trade agreements in place with 76 countries and this is growing. We launched the first-ever Clean Trade and Investment Partnership with South Africa, and we will continue to build bridges with all those that like us care about fair and rules-based trade as the basis for shared prosperity.

Taken together, the EU and its Member States are the world’s leading donor of development assistance – helping millions of people worldwide and working collectively to promote good governance, fight hunger and preserve natural resources with governments in 150 partner countries, as well as with international organisations and civil society across the world. 

The European Union is  continuing to engage with countries around the world, working on solutions and building partnerships. In this context, the EU has launched the Global Gateway Africa – Europe Investment Package mobilising  €150 billion in investments between 2021 and 2027 for the African continent alone, to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. he EU, its Member States and European financial institutions work together to support transformational projects to tackle the most pressing global challenges, from climate change and protecting the environment, to improving health security and boosting competitiveness and global supply chains. 

The European Union provides needs-based assistance to countries and populations, both within Europe and abroad, when major disasters or humanitarian emergencies occur. Together, the EU countries are among the world's leading donors of humanitarian aid, helping millions of people worldwide each year.

Every year the EU provides food, shelter, protection, healthcare and clean water to over 120 million victims of natural disasters and conflict in over 80 countries through humanitarian aid. In the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region, the EU provides humanitarian assistance to victims of natural disasters, as well as armed conflict and violence. EU humanitarian aid in Lesotho comes in the form of food assistance, education in emergencies, and disaster preparedness.

EU relations with the Kingdom of Lesotho are now underpinned by the Samoa agreement signed in November 2023 by the European Union and 27 Member States and 79 nations members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States. This agreement covers around 2 billion people!

But EU relations with the Kingdom date back to 1976, year of the enforcement of the Lomé Convention, when the EU Delegation in Maseru also opened its doors in the Mountain Kingdom. 

For almost 50 years now, the European Union has been a strategic partner of Lesotho, supporting diverse programmes and initiatives covering water and sanitation, renewable energy, infrastructure, social protection, and governance.

This relationship has progressively expanded from development cooperation and humanitarian assistance to a multi-faceted partnership encompassing political dialogue, trade and investment, socio-economic cooperation, support to national reforms and governance, academic and cultural exchanges notably via the Erasmus+ programme.

The EU Delegation is the sole representation of the Union based in Lesotho, but the programmes it implements are made possible thanks to the contributions of its Member States. Each and every one of the 27 Member States contributes to the budget of the EU and is a reliable and committed partner of Lesotho. 

Today, we mark the Europe Day within the broader Europe Month celebrations taking place in Lesotho. 

During this month, we want to honour the efforts to support Lesotho in pursuing Sustainable Development Goals, with a number of activities organised on the numerous EU-funded projects in the energy, water, trade, youth, social protection and justice sectors. We will visit Maseru, Leribe, Mohale’s Hoek and Mokhotlong. 

Next week, the traditional Lesotho-EU Partnership Dialogue will  attract to Maseru Ambassadors and diplomats from EU Member States based in South Africa to review together with the Government of Lesotho the overall mutual relations. A delegation of the European Investment Bank will also participate.

But the whole month will be focused on meeting partners, launch new initiatives, witnessing the impact of EU partnership on the ground. 

A calendar of EU month activities and events is available HERE.

Happy Europe Day to you all. 

Kea leboha.

Khotso. Pula. Nala.