19 STUDENTS TO ATTEND COLLEGE OF EUROPE'S POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

In the press conference held, with the participation of Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, at the Ortakoy Office of the Secretariat General for EU Affairs (EUSG), 19 candidates who became entitled to get scholarship for the College of Europe's Postgraduate Programme in the academic year 2011-2012 were introduced to the public.

Indicating that the College of Europe was an important school Bagis said that they observed that top-level leaders of the European Commission and the Council and member states were graduates of that school.

Bagis stated that 15 of 19 scholarships were sponsored by private sector firms and 4 of them were granted by the College of Europe. Expressing that each student would be a "Eurocrat", Bagis said: "You will be a source of pride for Turkey."

Bagis continued as follows:

"You are the hope of Turkey. We expect you to play an active role in the EU accession process and we want you to make the best of your education."

Minister Bagis noted that the average number of Turkish students who have attended the College of Europe since it was founded in 1949 was 2 per year and Bagis continued as follows:

"Today if we can attend that programme with 19 students and 15 of them are women, this means that Turkey is changing its shell. Despite the paranoia and the fear being spread about a bogyman which would come and eat us, Turkey is reaching the level of modern civilization which was pointed by Ataturk as a target. It has become an unstoppable process. I am proud that we will work together with you in the EU accession negotiations which is one of the most important platforms of this process."

The rector of the College of Europe Prof. Paul Demaret stated that the institutions of the College had close relations with Turkey and the visit of President Abdullah Gul was one of the best examples for that close relationship. Demaret thanked private sector firms and non-governmental organizations which granted scholarships.

Source: AA