The Government of the Azores marks the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome with a lecture and a concert on the island of Terceira. The event which will be attended by Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations, Rui Bettencourt.

 The lecture on "The new challenges of Europe" will be delivered by Eduardo Paz Ferreira, with presentation by Miguel Monjardino. It will take place at the Main Hall of Angra do Heroísmo City Hall next Friday, March 24, at 8:30 PM.
 In turn, the "Great European Classics" concert by the Philharmonic Band of Terra Chã Musical Society takes place at Angra do Heroísmo Cultural and Congress Centre at 9:30 PM.

 In addition to the Ode to Joy, the repertoire also features musical themes written by various composers, including Ennio Morricone, John Philip Sousa, Jacob de Haan, Vittorio Monti, Steven Reineke, Frederik Bigelow and Carlos Marques.

 Signed on March 25, 1957, the Treaty of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) or Common Market with the goal of creating an area without borders, where people, goods and services could move freely. It laid the groundwork that enabled a long period of peace in European history.

 "The new challenges of Europe" is the first lecture of a series of conferences to be held this year to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and the 25th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty, under the European Citizenship - Europe for Azoreans programme.

This cycle of conferences features the participation of personalities from several fields as well as national and foreign pro-Europeans. It will address different themes, ranging from innovation and policy to development, culture or education, being key areas in the approach to citizenship. Moreover, there were topics under discussion, namely outermost regions, the sea and the new centres of the Azores.

 The next conference is scheduled for April. The island of São Miguel will welcome expert in business innovation strategies, Gilles Garel, while artist Daniel Eime will deliver a lecture on Corvo focused on art as a community engagement resource.