The Bigger, The Better? Speakers

Hi all!

My name is Aidan Kelly from Ireland and I’m here to tell you all about my workshop “The Bigger, The Better?” as part of EYMD 2008.

This workshop deals with all aspects of EU enlargement and I’ve got to say we’ve had some very interesting discussions so far! Today alone, we’ve had three guest speakers, each with very different opinions. The speakers themselves and their topics were designed to spark debate and they certainly achieved that!

Earlier we spoke to Professor Gyorgy Schopflin, a Hungarian MEP, who told us about the various ideologies and cultures across Europe and how important it was that the EU remained designed for European countries.

Next up was Mr Aleksander Mitic, Brussels correspondant with the Serbian national News Agency. He imspired great debate after he mentioned that he believes Kosovo should remain part of  Serbia. Many participants disagreed with his point, so it was interesting for someone like me to see both points of view.

Lastly, we had Mr Guldener Somermut who spoke of Turkeys aspirations to join the Union. It was another fascinating debate and one which will be a topic of conversation for many years to come, no doubt.

 

The workshop has been getting along great – we’re all in high spirits and laughs are never far away. We ‘have the craic’ to use an Irish expression for fun!

Well that’s it for today. I must go finish my article for our tabloid newspaper- keep an eye out for it on the website!

Keep safe!

Aidan