On the eve of the 65th anniversary of the official birth of the EU on May 9 , 1950, with the Schuman Declaration, we gather in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, St Peter’s Church, from across Europe and from many church traditions to reflect on the state of Europe today, in the light of Robert Schuman’s vision for ‘a community of peoples deeply rooted in Christian values’.
Jeff Fountain, director of the Schuman Centre for European 
Studies, and convenor of the State of Europe Forum, will lead a short reflection on ‘Schuman’s forgotten vision’.
Keynote speaker is Prof. Dr. Monsignor Tomas Halik, from Charles University in Prague, recipient of the 2014 Templeton Prize for Religion, and author of Patience with God. Dr Halik was a close advisor of Vaclev Havel before, during and after his presidency in the Czech Republic, and will talk on Europe, 25 years after communism. Short responses will be given by senior MEP from Estonia, Tunne Kelam, and Prof Prabhu Guptara, from Zurich.
See here for list of speakers and contributors
The programme will be in English and Latvian, with a written translation in Latvian available for the English sections.
Music will be provided by the chamber orchestra, ARMONICO, with solists, Iveta Romancāne, soprano, and Jekaterina Suvorova, harp, under the baton of Normunds Dreģis.
All are welcome. Entry is free but tickets, available from the ticket office at St Peters from May 1, will be required. All registered participants of the State of Europe Forum will receive tickets.