EU Minister urges students to communicate

ISTANBUL

EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış says he considers prejudice as the chief impediment before Turkey’s admission to the EU. DHA photo

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış has urged university students to establish verbal communication, even if they use it to express their criticism.

Recalling a meeting at a university where some students protested his presence by throwing eggs at him, Bağış said university students should not see violence as a tool. “This is how we started this project last year and we are expanding its scope every year. I trust in the youth of this country in breaking the rigid status quo against the EU in our country,” Bağış said on Nov. 2 at the awards ceremony of the “Competition of Young Communicators on the EU Path.”

Bağış said he considered prejudice as the chief impediment before Turkey’s admission to the EU. “This prejudice prevails on both sides, in Turkey and the EU alike. And in removing these prejudices our best tool is communication. Therefore, we’ve decided to encourage our youth in devising communication projects.

The final jury assessment of the competition was announced at a ceremony held July 19 at the Ministry for EU Affairs’ Istanbul office. The winners of the four categories will pay a visit to Brussels and Copenhagen, while the first runner-ups will visit Brussels and the second runner-ups will get lap-top computers.

The competition, which was launched by Bağış on Nov. 24, 2011, aims to allow the youth to use their creative ideas for the European Union, as well as learn more about the Union and the Turkey-EU relations. The competition was realized through the participation of 45 universities in Turkey.