Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport held a farewell meeting with a group of 24 high school graduate students from central Belgrade’s schools ahead their EU-funded study trip to Brussels. Given an opportunity, the young scholars “grilled” Davenport about wide range of EU issues, from Scotland referendum and policy on Ukraine to Serbia’s EU integration and required reforms in judiciary, agriculture and economy.
Two best graduates from each of 12 high schools at Belgrade’s Stari Grad municipality are awarded with the September 16-21 study trip to Brussels, where they will visit EU institutions, Serbia’s office at the EU as well as museums and other sites.
“Very full programme has been set up and I hope this will be of interest for you,” Davenport told the group, expressing pleasure that the EU Delegation was able to sponsor their trip.
“You have remarkable set of skills and talents… the potential in this room for contribution to Serbia’s development is very huge and I’m very pleased to be able to be a small part of your development,” he said, before giving the floor to the pupils to ask anything they were interested in.
“How far is Serbia from the EU? Is there any way Serbia could enter the EU with Kosovo as its part? Will Scotland remain in EU if it secedes from the United Kingdom at the referendum? What is EU’s position on Serbian-Russian relationship in the light of crisis in Ukraine?” – were some of the questions young students asked.
They were also interested in wide range of economic issues such is “if Serbia could replace dinar with euro before entering monetary union” or “why there are no more foreign investors in Serbia from EU.” Davenport responded in detail to each of the questions, which obviously pleased his young guests.
Some of them wanted to know if “it is true that Serbia should allow import of GMO food in order tobecome an EU member” or “what if it turns out that Serbia has no capacity to meet EU standards?”
“Serbia has maximum potential, you don’t need to worry about the potential,” Davenport replied. “Of course you have potential, provided you all come back from Brussels and invest your skills and energy here,” he added, wishing the group a “good trip to Brussels.”
