Reflecting on Europe Day 2026

“Europe Day reminds us that Europe is not an abstract project, but a collective one — fragile, unfinished, and worth celebrating together,” wrote our Director in his personal reflection on May 9. He shares this idea with many across our continent. Never was our Europe Day calendar – including as many Europe Day celebrations taking place around May 9 – so well filled as this year. With Eurobarometer polling suggesting that more than half (57%) of EU citizens are satisfied with the way democracy works in the EU, while nearly three quarters (72%) believe their country has benefited on balance from being a member of the EU, are we living a European moment? Pawel Zerka – Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR – writes that indeed our “continent can emerge from this period stronger and more resilient.”

Here at ECF we are convinced Europe should not be discussed through politics and institutions only, but should be experienced by people in everyday life: in the spaces where they meet, exchange ideas, create together, and learn to live alongside one another. We hosted a series of Europe Day events reflecting this conviction.

At Europe Day 2026 in Pakhuis de Zwijger, artists, journalists, educators, entrepreneurs, technologists and policymakers came together to explore what culture and creativity make possible at a time of growing social and digital fragmentation.

Across the programme, conversations focused on democratic media, digital sovereignty, circular fashion and Europe’s creative ecosystem. Contributors, including Marek Tuszynski, Dewi van de Weerd, and Geert-Jan Boogaerts, reflected on how public-interest technology, creative collaboration and cultural spaces shape the way people participate in society and connect across difference. Beyond the panels themselves, the day created space for exchange between sectors that do not always meet in the same room. Journalists spoke with designers. Policymakers exchanged ideas with artists and community organisers. Conversations continued between sessions, during networking moments and across the wider programme. What emerged was a shared recognition that resilience is not built through policy alone, but through relationships, trust and public culture.

Europe Day 2026 at Pakhuis de Zwijger was organised by the European Cultural Foundation together with DutchCulture | Creative Europe Desk NL, EIT Culture & Creativity and Kunsten ’92.

On May 9 we launched Common Ground, ECF’s annual magazine, at Athenaeum Boekhandel Nieuwscentrum. We were much happy Polish author Malgorzata Lebda joined us to receive the ceremonial first copy and share her insights on what it means to be an European writer. Following her reading a column Marc Robbemond of Athenaeum Nieuwscentrum interviewed ECF Director André Wilkens and two members of Common Ground’s editorial team.

As long as stock lasts, grab your free print copy at Athenaeum when purchasing one of the books or magazines on this list – in Dutch. The magazine is also available as a free download from our website, please head here to download your copy.

Malgorzata Lebda featured amongst the authors EUNIC and de Balie invited to their annual European Literature Night. The complete event is made available via the website of De Balie.

As for upcoming years? You cannot have missed the posters and postcards Fine Acts and ECF commissoned. The works by fourteen illustrators across our continent are timeless and we invite you to share them time and again to wish fellow Europeans a Happy Europe Day!