May 9 - "Europe Day" - is the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. Speaking in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, then foreign minister of France, proposed a new form of political cooperation for Europe whose aim was to make war between Europe's nations not only unthinkable but also materially impossible.

His vision and foresight were confirmed earlier this year when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the European Union, the entity that emerged from that famous declaration.

It has been a great success. For fifty years its members have enjoyed unprecedented levels of peace, prosperity and stability. And it has evolved to be much more than the original bloc that coordinated members' trade policy and set common tariffs. Today the European Union is a political and economic project bringing together 27 European countries and over 490 million people.

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Its citizens can study, work or live in any EU country, and they can enjoy health and social benefits everywhere. Travel across the European Union is passport-free and the majority of its citizens share a single currency.

The EU is active in all the areas that pose the greatest challenges to society in the 21st century. It is a strategic partner for countries around the world on issues as varied as transnational terrorism, climate change, HIV/AIDS, and resolving the world's most entrenched conflicts.

Europe's prosperity has grown out of a particular form of regional cooperation that has developed hand in hand with a deep commitment to human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law. It is this experience, the secret of Europe's success, which Europe seeks to offer to others.

Europe is still developing its own common foreign and defense policy. But the EU is already the world's largest donor, providing 60 percent of the world's official development assistance. The European Commission alone provides over 7 billion euros every year in international aid.

Europe aims to tackle poverty and provide humanitarian assistance wherever it is required. To do this, it builds up trading and investment partnerships, and it deploys its unique set of skills in assisting countries in transition to ensure that others benefit from its own prosperity and stability.

Europeans believe that solutions to the world's problems can only be found through partnership. That's why they put so much value on relations with partners around the globe, and why Europe is so committed to multilateralism.

The European Union has a dense network of formal agreements and over 130 delegations around the world to cooperate with countries on issues of mutual interest. The EU is also carrying out police and military missions. We have deployed over 60,000 military personnel and civilians around the world, delivering support in crisis situations in the Middle East, Africa and post-tsunami Indonesia. Of particular interest for Israel are the EU's involvement in southern Lebanon via UNIFIL and the Border Assistance Mission in Rafah.

Our immediate neighbors are the main focus of our partnership efforts. The European Neighbourhood Policy has been designed to prevent the creation of dividing lines between the European Union and its neighbors. As a result of that policy, and more specifically the joint Action Plan we agreed on with Israel two years ago, bilateral relations between Israel and the EU are today deeper and stronger than ever before. We do not agree on everything, but there is definitely a new spirit of collaboration in the air.

We have enhanced our cooperation with Israel in recent years in areas as diverse as political dialogue, counter-terrorism, the promotion of trade and investment, and the fight against racism and anti-Semitism. Our partnership in science as well as research and development is already well established. We now want to take our relations forward by deepening our political dialogue and our economic and trade ties via stronger cooperation on energy and transport and through enhanced cooperation between researchers, scientists, artists and young people.

In the years ahead we will continue to work with Israel on the major issues confronting us all: transnational terrorism, security, conflict resolution, climate change, energy, and managing the forces of globalization. We will also work with Israel to promote and uphold the values we share and which we believe hold the key to prosperity in Europe and everywhere else in the world.

The writer is the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy.