On this day in 1945, high officers of Nazi German Army signed unconditional surrender to Soviet army and mark the end of the Second World War. This agreement has been signed during the night of May 8 in Berlin (Germany) in Red army headquarter, meaning May 9 regarding Moscow time zone.
Five years later, French Minster of Foreign Affairs Robert Schuman developed a proposal to ensure further peaceful relationship in Europe: an economic cooperation between several countries for commercial exchange of coal and steel. The idea was to make any war impossible through this trade agreement based on shared propriety of most important materials for war.
This trade agreement is the basic principle for European Coal and Steel Community, the first supranational organization and the first stone for building what became European Union. That is why this day May 9 was chosen in 1985 to become the Europe Day, which is now a symbol of EU beside flag, anthem, motto and common currency (euro).
European Union consists of 27 members now, while accession negotiations are under way with several states that need to fulfill the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria in order to join the European Union. All Western Balkan states strongly aspire toward EU membership and in spite of the obstacles they are encountering on that way, they are seen as members in the very near future.