A European Day of Mourning is a day marked by mourning and memorial activities in member states of the European Union. They are declared by the union and are separate from national days of mourning, which are designated at the national level. As of February 2023, there have been three European Days of Mourning.
Background
editThe European Commission introduced the concept on 12 September 2001, a day after the terrorist attacks in the United States. The commission, together with the European Council and the European Parliament, agreed on a joint statement to condemn the attacks and designated 14 September 2001 as a day of mourning in member states and EU institutions. European citizens were asked to join in three minutes of silence.[1][2][3][4]
A second European Day of Mourning was observed on 12 April 2010, two days after the Smolensk air disaster which led to the deaths of Polish President Lech Kaczyński, First Lady Maria Kaczyńska, former President in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski, Chief of Polish General Staff Franciszek Gągor and other Polish government officials.[5][6]
A third European Day of Mourning was held on 13 November 2015, for victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris. All European citizens were further asked to join in one minute of silence on 16 November.[7] Citizens and politicians gathered in a number of countries to mark the moment of silence, including in France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and Turkey.[8][9] In the Netherlands, trains and buses stopped to mark the minute's silence, take-offs at Schiphol Airport were briefly suspended, and programming on radio and television was paused for one minute.[10] The moment of silence was disrupted with shouts of "Allahu akbar", among other disruptions, at some Dutch schools.[11]
List
edit| Year | Days of mourning | Reason | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 | Victims of the September 11 attacks | Three minutes of silence. |
| 2010 | 1 | Victims of the Smolensk air disaster in Russia | One minute of silence at NATO headquarters in Brussels.[12] |
| 2015 | 1 | Victims of the November 2015 Paris attacks | One minute of silence. |
See also
edit- National day of mourning, a similar concept at the national level
- International day of mourning, a similar concept at the international level
- Arab League Day of Mourning, a similar concept at the Arabian level
References
edit- ^ Minutes of the 1535th meeting of the Commission held in Brussels on Wednesday 12 September 2001
- ^ "EU: Ministers Express Total Support, Declare Day Of Mourning". www.rferl.org. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "Press corner". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ European day of mourning declared on Friday
- ^ "European Union officially mourns with Poland". euronews. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Russia, EU join Warsaw on official day of mourning". France 24. 12 April 2010.
- ^ "Press corner". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "Minute's silence marks Paris attacks". BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "Luxembourg to observe minute of silence for Paris victims". luxembourg-times-online. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ In heel Nederland om 12:00 uur minuut stilte
- ^ ANP, Door (19 November 2015). "Minuut stilte Parijs verstoord op Nederlandse scholen". NU (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "Polish president's body to lie in state". 13 April 2010 – via www.rte.ie.