Bulgaria Marks Europe Day, Victory Day

Bulgaria will mark on Friday the Day of Europe, also known as Schuman Day, after the historic Schuman Declaration of May 9, 1950.

On this day, the French Foreign Minister at the time, Robert Schuman, signed a declaration to create a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the predecessor of the European Union (EU).

May 9 coincides with Victory Day, the end of World War II. It is celebrated on 8 May in Western Europe and on May 9 in Russia and many of the former Soviet Union states. The day is being marked with a huge military parade in the Russian capital Moscow.

Representatives of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) led by their chairman Sergei Stanishev, will commemorate the day by paying tributes in front of the Soviet Army monument in Sofia at 11 AM.

At 7 PM, a symphony concert dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven will be performed in the Bulgarian Parliament building. It is organized by the Parliament speaker Mihail Mikov and will be free of charge.