Brussels
\nThe EU threw open the doors of its institutions to the public on Saturday, just ahead of May 9 celebrations marking Europe Day, when the bloc marks its 72nd anniversary.
\nThis year, the Ukrainian flag fluttered alongside EU ones in Brussels to symbolise the solidarity the 27-nation bloc is showing to Kyiv as its forces battle invading Russian troops.
\n\u201cWe dedicate this year\u2019s Europe Day to the people of Ukraine,\u201d the ambassadors of the EU member states said in a message tweeted by the European Council. Europe Day commemorates a 1950 declaration penned by then French foreign minister Robert Schuman that set out an idea of a European coal and steel union binding former foes France and Germany into durable peace.
\nThat union evolved over the decades into today\u2019s European Union, the world\u2019s biggest free trade bloc, a global standard setter for industries, and — spurred by Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine — an increasingly firm player in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
\nThe EU has taken in more than five million Ukrainians who have fled the conflict, set aside 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to funnel weapons to Kyiv, and has imposed a multitude of sanctions to punish Moscow for its invasion.
\nSaturday\u2019s open day in Brussels saw thousands of people visiting the buildings of the European Commission, European Council and the EU\u2019s foreign policy service to learn more about what they do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brussels The EU threw open the doors of its institutions to the public on Saturday, just ahead of May 9 celebrations marking Europe Day, when the bloc marks its 72nd anniversary. This year, the Ukrainian flag fluttered alongside EU ones in Brussels to symbolise the solidarity the 27-nation bloc is showing to Kyiv as its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[6948,2064,6947,3501],"class_list":{"0":"post-259337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-doors","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe-day","11":"tag-european-union"},"yoast_head":"\n