EU history museum to open May 6

The European Parliament will open its long-awaited history museum — dubbed the House of European History — on May 6, just a day before the French presidential run-off vote in which Marine Le Pen, one of the candidates, has vowed to “destroy the EU.”

The Parliament promises a “a captivating experience” for visitors at the Museum, which is located in Brussels’ Parc Léopold in the Eastman building, a former dental clinic for disadvantaged children.

The museum will focus on Europe’s post-war history, as does Parliament’s visitor center, known as Parlamentarium.

The €56 million museum is the brainchild of a former president of the Parliament, Germany’s Hans-Gert Pöttering, who wanted to build a place in which “the concept of the European idea can continue to grow.”

“Visitors will be challenged to critically assess European history, its potential and its future‚” the Parliament said in a written statement announcing the museum opening.

The museum website offers structured classroom activities on controversial topics such as migration and European identity, complete with teachers’ notes.

One class activity is themed on the subject “Why are people dying to get to Europe?” The activity asks students to draw on documents including an Amnesty International report titled ‘The Human Cost of Fortress Europe’ and to debate the ‘Bolkestein Directive,’ which encouraged the development of a single European market for services, including labour market competition.

The museum will be open 7 days a week, with free entrance.

The official opening will include a press conference led by European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, former parliament president Dr Hans-Gert Pöttering (now chair of the Board of Trustees) and Professor Hans Walter Hütter, who led a committee of experts overseeing the museum’s concept and content.