EU Information Centre organised a European Parliament simulation debate on enlargement of EU in Dom omladine in Belgrade; according to jury and audience, the contestants who were against the admission of new members gained predominance.
On Tuesday evening, EU Information Centre, Open Communication, and BEUM Student Association organised a European Parliament debate simulation on enlargement of EU and according to jury and audience, the contestants who were against the admission of new members gained predominance.
Six debaters (a total of 60 students participated) represented six groups of the European Parliament regarding their position on the issue of EU enlargement.
Parties in the European Parliament that advocate further enlargement were represented by the students Viktor Prlja, Miljana Pejić and Milja Šiljakinić, whilst view of the parties which are opposing further enlargement were defended by Stefan Siridžanski, Marija Simić and
Miloš Rafailović. Each of the contestants had seven minutes to explain its position.
The students, who represented the party which supports admission of new members, argued their position by saying that enlargement of EU contributes to the implementation of economic reforms and strengthens human rights in countries which are applying for membership.
Defending the position of further enlargement, Prlja said that both EU and country applying for membership benefit from enlargement, and he said that this contributes to the strengthening of peace in Europe.
As an example, he cited the dialog between Belgrade and Prishtina which is, as he said, directly driven by mutual aspiration for joining EU.
In the European Parliament debate simulation Prlja supported the position of European People’s Party which is the largest party in the European Parliament.
His team colleague, Mirjana Pejić, said that EU has a responsibility for respecting human rights in Europe and that the idea of enlargement represents a strong incentive for spreading the values for which it stands for.
Rafailović, who represented the parties which oppose enlargement of the EU, said that before further enlargement, stabilisation and solving of the current problems is needed.
His team colleague, Marija Savić, who represented the position of the National Front (France), which is opposing the enlargement, said that sovereignty should be returned to the EU citizens, namely because decisions should not be made by the Brussels’ bureaucracy.
The jury was comprised of Maja Bobić from the European Movement in Serbia, Nadežda Dramićanin from the Delegation of the EU in Serbia, and Davor Glavaš from the EU Information Centre.
Bobić voted for the team that defended enlargement of the EU, while the other two members judged that the students who defended the opposite side did better.
According to the opinion of the students who attended the debate, the side which was against further enlargement did a better job presenting its view.
