Mission

The Festival of Europe, conceived and coordinated by the European University Institute, aims to highlight this “unusual” vocation of the Tuscan capital. The event will see the active participation of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Italian Ministry for European Affairs - in collaboration with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the major local institutions such as Tuscany Regional council, Florence provincial and city councils, the regional Board of Education, Florence University and the Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) Agency. The highlight of the event is the “Conference on the State of the Union”, where debates at the highest level are foreseen regarding the progress made on the road to European integration since the Treaty of Lisbon.

Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth Androulla Vassilou and other personalities will take part in the Conference, to be held in Palazzo Vecchio on May 9th and 10th. The debate will also see contributions from journalists, academics and Italian and European businessmen.