Every year on 9^th May, we celebrate the famous Schuman declaration, which marks the beginning of our European integration project.

In his welcoming speech, His Excellency Patrick Simonnet, EU Ambassador to Saudi Arabia reflected on the principles of Europe Day and said:

"Every year on this date, we celebrate the famous Schuman declaration, which marks the beginning of our European integration project. Let us remember 9 May 1950. Five years after World War II ended, six countries, former enemies, agreed on a simple but far-reaching idea: to pool the production of coal and steel –what cannons are made of - in order to make another war materially impossible. Since then, the 6 have become 27 and turned into an ever-closer political and economic bloc. So every year, we celebrate our longest period of peace and stability in Europe’s written history as well as our commitment to build a stronger and safer world within and beyond our borders. And we have never stopped being this global and reliable actor for peace, providing more than half of the world’s official development assistance and supporting conflict resolution efforts or political process in the Middle east and beyond… often working hand in hand with our partners in the Gulf.

This year’s celebration has a particular significance. It comes after a number of General and Presidential elections, over the last twelve months, in France, Germany, Portugal Malta, Cyprus, Hungary and Slovenia, where European citizens have voted in large majority for pro-European leaders. Those who had predicted the unravelling of Europe or the victory of nationalists have been proven wrong once again. With this enlightened leadership, we will preserve our European ideal and will make it work better, in the face of pressing challenges. Chief among those are putting our recovering economies on a more sustainable path and countering the Russian aggression on Ukraine, which has brought back war on European territory. War will never be a solution to anything.

It is a tradition for us to celebrate this moment with our partners around the globe and I am happy that, after a three-year interruption, we can all meet again in the booming capital city of Riyadh and this time in this beautiful cultural palace. Culture is one of the foundations of the relations between the Kingdom and Europe and this year for the first time, 9 May has kicked off a “Europe Month”. This Europe month offers a series of events to our friends in the country to enjoy European culture as well as to learn more about the European Union and its Member States. These events are organised by the EU Delegation and the EU Member State Embassies in Riyadh and include activities such as music recitals, art exhibitions, film festivals and our unprecedented participation to the International Conference on Education in Riyadh last week. My fellow ambassadors from the EU Member States and myself wanted to offer a unique opportunity to share cultural experiences and encourage exchange between Europe and the Kingdom, with the aim of improving mutual understanding and strengthening our ties. Brochures about Europe Month and its events are available at the door.

But our relations go much beyond the realm of culture and people-to-people contacts. The last months have seen a flurry of high-level visits in both directions and of cooperation activities in the political, security, energy and trade fields, which have brought the two sides to realize their common interest in taking their partnership to a another level.  Today, 18 May, the EU has launched in Brussels its “new strategy with the Gulf” that will take us there: a higher level of political coordination, an enhanced cooperation on our respective development strategies namely the European Green Deal and the Saudi Vision 2030, more bilateral engagement on regional security matters, better ways to boost our thriving economic and trade relations and most importantly a new vision on shared renewable energies between Europe and the Gulf.

The presence of so many Saudi and European friends and colleagues today is testament of this ever-closer relationship.

Thank you."

Europe Day lunch with travel influencers

The EU Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted a lunch to celebrate Europe Day together with EU MS Ambassadors in Riyadh and prominent travel bloggers/influencers active in Saudi Arabia. The aim was to discuss traveling and tourism between the EU and KSA as tourism in an important component for both economies. The guests shared their experiences in European cities and explored ways of enhancing interest of Saudi tourists in visiting new destinations in Europe. Finally, the changes in the tourism sector in KSA and the hidden gems of the country were also discussed.

EU Delegation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Opera gala concert “Voices for Peace” in Saudi Arabia

In celebration of Europe month in Saudi Arabia, the EU Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted together with the French Ambassador an opera gala concert “Voices for Peace”.

Fully booked cultural palace, Opera gala concert “Voices for Peace” offered a fusion of European classical opera music and traditional Saudi repertoire - most memorable probably being the Anthem of European Union "Ode to Joy" performed to classic Middle Eastern beats.