14 STUDENTS WERE SCHOLARSHIPPED TO THE COLLEGE OF EUROPE WITH THE INITIATIVE TAKEN BY EUSG AND MINISTER BAGIS

At the press conference held at the Ortakoy Office of the Secretariat General of EU Affairs, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis gave information about the "2010-2011 Academic Year of the College of Europe Postgraduate Programme".

Bagis stated that after Turkey's acceptance of College of Europe diploma equivalence, a scholarship programme was launched in order to raise fully qualified EU experts, Turkish eurocrats of the future and businessmen with an EU vision.

Stating that College of Europe was a reputable organisation training important leaders in the field of EU; Bagis said: "This cooperation launched with the College of Europe is an important step in terms of training EU leaders of Turkey. With the contributions of private sector and non-governmental organisations, 14 scholarships have been arranged."

Bagis thanked Turkey-Europe Foundation which contributed the coordination and College of Europe and 13 firms which granted scholarships. Bagis also stated that the contribution of Turkish private sector was the most valuable investment to the future.

Bagis noted that training qualified EU experts and eurocrats for Turkey's EU membership process was an important issue that should be handled seriously within the framework of the European Union Communication Strategy (EUCS).

Source: AA