PART ONE
Celebration at the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Signing of Treaty of Rome

Light-heartedly a bunch of primary-school pupils are preparing a celebration at the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of Treaty of Rome. Each of them is coming up with interesting ideas in order to realise an interesting celebration. Their class teacher has entrusted them with a chest containing all the symbols of the European Union which is to help them prepare the celebration. Learning about the symbols, their features and historical facts the young people get lost in a heated conversation, failing to notice what has happened. The symbols have disappeared and all that is left is a short message to this effect:

What has happened to you can only happen to those who are not able to watch over the treasure. Slovenian presidency is drawing near very fast so you do not have much time to find what you have lost. Use your knowledge and your ingenuity, maybe a short tip, Whatever one looks for one can find at its home, and do not forget, he who searches is he who finds

They are determined to find all the symbols and bring them back home but it is only then that their problems start …


PART TWO
Treaty of Rome

Searching for Treaty of Rome, Žiga, Nives and Katja have arrived in the city of Rome  and here they try to find the palace where the Treaty of Rome has been signed (Palazzo dei Conservatori, conference hall Salla degli Oriazi e Curiazi). During their search they learn about the historical facts which have led to the idea of the European Union and about the two men, Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman, who are given credit for the signing of the Agreement of European Community on Coal and Steel, followed by Treaty of Rome. They deliberate on how much has changed in the European Union since that far-off year of 1957. They are received by a high-ranking official of the city of Rome


PART THREE
The slogan United Through Diversity

For Anja and Tina the search for the object starts at the Mission of European Parliament to Slovenia where they learn about the work on the part of information office, they learn about the history and the meaning of the slogan which represents one of the EU-symbols. Her search brings Tina as far as the European Parliament, looking for the lost item with Slovenian deputies of EU-Parliament; she learns not only about the structure and the operation of this important EU institution which is supposed to represent the voice of the people but also the three main objectives of the EU-Parliament and the values it stands for. In the end she meets with dr. Ciril Štokelj, deputy head of the cabinet of the president of the EU-Parliament


PART FOUR
Ode to Joy – Anthem of the European Union

The search for the EU-Anthem brings Jana to the Information Centre of the European Commission Europe Direct in Murska Sobota where she learns about the author of the anthem, what its name is, when the tune has become the anthem of the EU and what the meaning of this common European symbol is. She continues her search at the Mission of EU-Commission to Slovenia in Ljubljana where she is told about the importance and the operation of the mission, whereupon a meeting with dr. Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research is arranged for her and soon after that she finds herself in Brussels, with high hopes and a bag of interesting questions


PART FIVE
European Convention on Human Rights

Mojca, who has been assigned to find the European Convention on Human Rights, deliberates on the notion of human rights as well as the convention and since she has no idea how to go about her job she turns to the office of ombudsman and she is invited to come for a visit. During her conversation with the Slovenian ombudsman dr. Zdenka Čebašek-Travnik she finds out that in Slovenia, too, there are a lot of cases where human rights are violated but she gets to be quite optimistic about the situation when she sees that there is an institution which is able and willing to help individuals in cases where their rights have been violated. She learns not only that the office tries very hard to protect the rights of children but also that the jurisdiction of the Slovenian ombudsman is separated from the jurisdiction of the European ombudsman. Apart from providing her with a lot of information the office also arranges for her a meeting with the European ombudsman so she travels to Brussels and although Mr. Diamandourus is held up in Strasbourg the spokesman of the European ombudsman helps her achieve her goal.


PART SIX
Schuman Declaration

From the very beginning things go wrong. Andreja breaks her leg so she and Tjaša, they decide to start their search through EVROFONE, a toll-free number offering a wide variety of information on the EU. Thus they can get all the basic information on the declaration but nobody has any idea as to where the original might be stored. Apart from the declaration the two girls get a lot of information on educational programmes of the EU once they have found out how very helpful the people at the evrofone are whereupon they set off for Ljubljana, to the Information Office in order to search for the lost treasure

PART SEVEN
Flag of the European Union

The search for the EU-flag brings Romana and Bianka to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia where they meet with dr. Dimitrij Rupel, the Minister for Foreign Affairs who introduces to them the function of the ministry as regards the Slovenian presidency whereupon he refers Romana to permanent mission of the Republic of Slovenia with the EU in Brussels where she meets with ambassador Senčar who explains to her the functions and the goals of the mission, its links to the European Council and Slovenian presidency. Much to her surprise the ambassador hands her the original EU-flag whereupon the knowledge-thirsty primary-school pupil continues her search in Brussels, at the European Council where she engages in an interesting conversation with Ivan Bizjak, BA who is managing director for jurisdiction and internal affairs with the European Council


PART EIGHT
Euro

The original EURO is also part of the lost treasure. Žiga makes up his mind to find it so he rummages through the library, looks at EU booklets and buries himself in his album of Euro coins. Pretty soon he decides to look for more information at the Bank of Slovenia where dr. Bertoncelj takes him to the treasury of the Bank of Slovenia. Žiga holds millions of Euro in his hands as well as gold bars and gets a lot of interesting information on when and why the Euro-story began, what the role of the Bank of Slovenia is after the Euro was introduced in 2007, what its role was prior to the introduction of the Euro, what its position is as regards the European Central bank and, last but not least, how well the Euro banknotes are protected. Despite all of the above said he does not forget his job of finding the original Euro


PART NINE
Slovenian presidency of the EU

The pupils gather in the weekend cottage of Anja«s parents. They are glad they have found all the lost EU symbols and recall their adventures in Brussels, Rome and Ljubljana although they are not really sure whether or not they have unravelled the puzzle written on the slip of paper they found months ago in the chest instead of the mysteriously vanished EU symbols. They find that their search has gone smoothly, without any real problems or complications. During the search there has always been someone from some state institution or EU institution to help them along or send them in the right direction, even helping them by covering their costs. Žiga and Anja introduce to their friends an almost unbelievable scenario of a regular plot.


Project »Search for EU Treasure« is co financed by European parliament.