The third branch of the European College opens in Tirana, Rama: There is no teacher who can tear your nerves apart like BE, but...
2023-10-15 18:16:25PolitikëSHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The third branch of the European College opens in Tirana, EC President: 15 scholarships over the next 3 years for students from the Western Balkans
For EC President Ursula von der Leyen, the opening of the third branch of the European College of Bruges in Tirana will create for the Western Balkans a strong bridge towards the European Union.
Von der Leyen also gave the good news that the European Commission will make available 15 scholarships over the next 3 years for all students from the Western Balkans.
"Is there a better way than this to prepare the future of Albania than this here, to train the next generation. So we started the work, we talked with the College of Europe, now less than a year later, here we are today creating the foundations of the third branch of the College of Europe, here in Tirana. We kept our word, tomorrow we will open the office, but today we will focus on those who will give life to the college, the students. From this moment on we must remember this moment well, students in Albania, from the Western Balkans, from Europe and beyond, can apply to study here in the third branch of the College of Europe. The addition of another branch gives its own contribution to Albania and the region. This is the third branch of the College, the second was established in Poland, and what it did for Poland and the other candidate countries at the time, it will do the same. To prepare them for EU membership. This branch of the European College will do the same for the Western Balkans, creating a strong bridge towards the European Union.
The commission has allocated funds to support the establishment of the campus, but more funds will follow. I am also very pleased that you said that 31 students will be part of the master's course, but I am pleased to inform you that we will have a financial package with scholarships, for students from the Western Balkans. We will have 15 scholarships over the next 3 years. I believe we all understand how important this is," von der Leyen said.
While Prime Minister Edi Rama said that "this College is more than a university that comes here from abroad and becomes part of our system to offer more opportunities for a higher level, higher class education for young people ours.
I strongly believe that Europe for us is about knowledge, about learning how to solve all the problems we have inherited from the past. How to find the right ways to build our institutions. How to transform what is most important for a new country in this challenge like us: knowledge and the state. I always think how blessed we are to live in this country, and how blessed we are to be surrounded by the EU. If you take a look at our past, there is not much reason to be inspired or to believe in a bright future, and if there is a reason that other countries that come from a similarly difficult past, they cannot find it, because they are not in Europe, it is Europe itself. No one can teach those in other parts of the world who want to move forward. The EU is the best at doing this, no one can accompany a country to come out of its past and provide a democratic and functional state for its citizens like the EU does. I know it's not easy at all, there's no teacher who can tear your nerves apart like BE, there's no doubt about it. It occurs to me that the college is at the forefront of this, but there is no other way.
I believe that this College is more than a university that comes here from abroad and becomes part of our system to provide more opportunities for a higher level, higher class education for our young people. Because in addition to this, it is also a deeper lesson for the EU itself, for the journey towards it. For all this, I think we have the right today to be happy and I believe many more young Albanians than 31 are inclined and want to be part of it. Of course, the plan is for the number to increase in the following years, but the number will never be as large as the demand to be part of it, which means that the competition will become more and more challenging".
On the eve of the Summit of the leaders of the Berlin Process, which will take place tomorrow in the capital, the launch ceremony of the programs for the academic year 2024-2025, which will start with 31 students, took place today at the House of Europe. During the ceremony, the Rector of the College of Europe, Federica Mogherini, announced, among other things, the launch of the online application process for the next academic year for students who will study at the European University of Bruges, on the Tirana campus.
