Brussels, 27/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On the occasion of Europe Day on 9 May, Florence will be hosting a Festival d'Europa from 6 to 10 May, which is unprecedented - at least for Italy. Those present will include the presidents of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, the vice-president of the Commission, Antonio Tajani, and other commissioners, as well as the chairman of the European Parliament constitutional affairs committee, Carlo Casini, the Italian foreign minister, Franco Frattini, and many other well-known personalities. Events are to be coordinated by the European university institute (IUE) of Florence and was presented in Rome yesterday during a press conference attended by Tajani. According to indications provided by the Commission representation in Italy, the most important event at the festival will be the “State of the Union” conference, an international symposium held at the Palazzo Vecchio on 5 and 10 May, during which stock will be taken of current international topics and the main European Union policies. Institutional and cultural moments with points of contact with the May festival for music in Florence will ensue at Piazza Signoria, a mecca of Florentine history which, during the festival, will be transformed into Piazza Europe, while the whole town is festooned with blue and yellow, the colours of the EU. Three pavilions will be set up there - for Europe, of the Nations and for Youth. The first is the work of the Commission and Parliament representations in Italy and of the Italian Ministry for Community Policies, while the second is by the ten EU states that joined the initiative, and the third is by the Commission in Brussels. (Gp/transl.jl)