Today marks the public opening of the online mutimedia library, announced the European Commission. The official opening of “Europeana” was held today at the “Palais de Charles de Lorraine” in the Royal national library in Brussels.

The Commission president José Manuel Durão Barroso, commissar Vivian Redding, Kristin Albanel (minister of culture of France and president of the council of ministers of culture in the EU countries), numerous ministers of culture of EU countries and members of other European cultural institutions were present at the event.

Internet users from all over the world can access over two million books, maps, recordings, photographs, archives, pictures and films from the various cultural institutions of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union at www.europeana.eu.