To mark Europe Day 2006, on 9 May the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE) is launching a cultural project that will span the continent.

Café d’Europe, backed by the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU, will take place in 27 cafés across 27 European capital cities, to reflect the literary and culinary diversity and variety within the Union.

Cafés, perhaps more than any other institution, stand for communication and local culture; they are a symbol of our common European heritage.

In Malta, this event will take place at Caffe Cordina, Republic Street, Valletta between 11am and noon on 9 May. The event will be hosted by Dr Elisabeth Kehrer, Austrian Ambassador to Malta. Dr Michael Frendo, Foreign Affairs Minister and Dr Joanna Drake, Head of Representation, European Commission, will be attending.

The event will be launched with the cutting of the EU cake prepared by Caffe Cordina.

This initiative forms part of the programme of events organised by the Representation of the European Commission and the Austrian Embassy on 9 May to celebrate Europe Day. The programme starts with an activity at the Mediterranean Conference Centre for primary and secondary level students who have been studying European matters at school.

At a later stage, the Malta Police Band will march down Republic Street from City Gate to Palace Square. There will also be a festive ceremony in St George’s Square when students will raise the EU flag and the flags of the 25 EU countries.

The cafes will host coffee house discussions with the public and young people from all over Europe. Questions will be asked, ideas aired, creative and visionary approaches proposed. The core issue is the diversity and colourful nature of the European Union. People will also be writing in the Café d’Europe – where writers and members of the public, from Dublin to Athens, from Lisbon to Riga, will pen the Stories of Europe. The contributions will subsequently be compiled and published in a book to mark the momentous occasion.

Jiøí Gruša, the president of the International P.E.N., has composed a text, ‘Temptress Europe’, especially for the occasion. This theme will be taken up by all the writers and members of the public in the coffee houses and interpreted individually in a variety of ways.

Authors such as Václav Havel in Prague, Eva Demski in Berlin, Christiane Singer in Paris, Jan Baeke in Amsterdam, Timothy Garton Ash in London and Malta’s own Gorg Mallia, as well as many other European writers, will read their literary contributions inspired by Jiøí Gruša’s work in their local Café d’Europe and motivate discussion with their audiences.

On 9 May, a European newspaper will be published across Europe. In this special edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.), the newspaper’s wide network of correspondents will report from 27 countries. This newspaper for Europe Day 2006 will be published both in German and in English.