The European Commission (EC) on Sunday issued a declaration in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe.

"This year we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. We do so against the backdrop of the first anniversary of our historic enlargement," said the declaration.

The EC, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), said the enlargement has reunited the European family and healed the wounds of more than half a century on the eve of the "Europe Day," which falls on Monday.

"We honor the many innocent victims of past conflicts and those who paid the highest price in defense of freedom and democracy," it said.

"Over the intervening 55 years we have grown from a common market to a Union; 450 million people from twenty-five independent nations are in peaceful cooperation, defining together European solutions to common problems," said the EC.

It said the European integration process has expanded stability across the continent, and is "instrumental in resolving the very last border disputes left over from the end of the war."

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2005)