EP Information Office in Sofia to facilitate communication between citizens and MEPs

published on 12/14/09 3:31 PM

Photo: BGNES

In 2010 the Information Office of the European Parliament in Sofia will help establish close communication between Bulgarian and foreign MEPs and Bulgarian citizens. This was reported by the head of the office, Violeta Stanicic, while presenting the scheduled events for next year. The office has planned five forum meetings in 2010, which will provide direct communication between MEPs and citizens.

“Four of the forums will be in various Bulgarian cities,” Violeta Stanicic pointed out. “Bulgarians and Greeks will participate together in one of the forums. Most likely, Bulgarians living in the region of Smolyan (Southern Bulgaria) will participate in the meeting and we will take them to the city of Xanthi, Northern Greece. Together with Greek citizens, they will be able to discuss with MEPs the problems the border regions face, for example, infrastructure, investments, employment, and so on. In July 2010 we plan a big conference, dedicated to energy. We expect this conference to attract the attention of members of the EP Energy Committee. We also hope to attract citizens’ interest with a series of events to mark Europe Day on May 9. We are also to continue taking Bulgarian children to Strasbourg for the simulated sessions of the EP – Euroscola. It is a very interesting and instructive trip for children aged 16 –18. We will continue to train journalists and bring them to all EP sessions in Strasbourg, as well as to cooperate closely with the media.”

Violeta Stanicic pointed out that the 3rd edition of the EP journalism competition starts on January 15. Winners in the competition are journalists, who have major contribution to shedding light on important European topics through their articles. There are four award categories: print media, radio, television, and web media. Full information can be found on the web site of the EP Information Office in Sofia – europarl.bg. The award ceremony will be in October 2010. Each EU Member State should make a selection and nominate national winners in the categories. A committee of members of the Directorate-General for Press and Communication and EP representatives are the European judges. There is a prize of 5000 euro for each category. No Bulgarian journalist has ever won the award, but it could still happen as there are four months left to present suitable publications.

“The 3rd edition of the European Charlemagne Youth Prize started in November,” Violeta Stanicic added. “The award is given to young people, who participate in projects that promote mutual understanding in EU. I hope that there are young Bulgarians to participate in this competition. The three wining projects will receive 5000 euro for first place, 3000 euro for second place, and 2000 euro for third place. The winning project authors will be invited to visit the European Parliament. In 2009 the big award was given to a Polish project for a series of school seminars, organized by students, and using informal methods to present interesting facts about Europe to teenagers. Bulgarians could also win the Charlemagne Youth Prize. Why not!

English version: A. Markov

По публикацията работи: Tatyana Obretenova

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