“ISTANBUL PREPARING FOR THE EU” PROJECT

First agreements were signed for the “Istanbul Preparing for the EU Project” developed under the framework of “Provinces Preparing for the EU Programme II-Support for Regional Projects Component” within the cooperation of the Ministry for EU Affairs, Istanbul Governorship, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Union of Municipalities of Turkey.

Mr. Egemen Bagis, Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, Mr. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu, Governor of Istanbul and Mr. Dr. Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey along with many other guests participated in the protocol ceremony held in Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Bagis stated that the European Union was an idea which improved the standard of living in Turkey and the joint efforts enabled the projects which might directly affect the daily life to be put into practice. Bagis also added that European Union could not be complete without Istanbul.

Within the scope of the project planned for two years, an expert/assistant expert will be assigned by the Ministry for 39 districts of Istanbul in order to assist the EU activities. Furthermore, a training programme on “EU Accession Process and EU Grant Schemes” aimed at the personnel of district governorships and district municipalities, “Town Twinning Programme” for the district governorships and district municipalities to prepare joint projects with equivalent institutions of the EU member states, a two-day international symposium titled “Local Governments in Turkey on EU Process”, Europe Day Activities on 9 May, “EU Project Award” and “The Best Project of Istanbul Competition” will be organized. Besides these activities, the booklets titled “EU Projects in Istanbul”, “Fundamental EU Terms”, and “Local Governments in Turkey on EU Process” will be published.

Source: http://www.ab.gov.tr/index.php?p=47575&l=1