France and Spain will collaborate to hold an exclusive program of events that will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso.

The French Culture Ministry has announced that Picasso is to be celebrated as a universal artist who, as a defender of human rights and freedom of expression, embodied the founding principles of the European Union.

His work "Guernica" had become the greatest international anti-war symbol of modern history, said the French officials, home to one of the world's most significant Picasso museums.

Barcelona, where Picasso lived for a time, Malaga, where he was born, and Madrid, where the famous "Guernica" hangs, are all home to major Picasso works and museums, while the Picasso Museum in Paris has the world's largest collection of the artist's works.

A binational commission has been set up to coordinate the celebrations and organizers see the Picasso anniversary as one of the most important European and international cultural events of the coming years.

A total of around 40 exhibitions and events are to take place, mainly in Europe and North America. Picasso was born on Oct. 25, 1881, in Malaga in southern Spain and died at the age of 91 on April 8, 1973, in Mougins in southern France.