European Parliament MEP Assistants Group visit İstanbul Bilgi University

A group 15 MEP Assistants/Advisors from the European Parliament visited İstanbul Bilgi University on 2nd November 2012 within the framework of a programme organised by Turkey’s European Affaires Ministry. 
The visit was organised under the responsability of the European Affairs Ministry’s Head of Department for Research and Documentation, Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu. 
The group was led by Assistant to the MEP from Germany (Group of Progressive Alliance of Socialistes and Democrats) İsmail Ertuğ’s Assistant Fatih Erdoğan who is active in the “Friends of Turkey” group at the European Parliament. 


After a working lunch with Bilgi Academics at Santral Campus, the group participated in a round table meeting where Prof. Ayhan Kaya, Prof. Yeşim Atamer, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Durmuş Özdemir and Assis. Prof. Dr. Senem Aydın Düzgit gave presentations about the social, economic legal and political aspects of Turkey’s EU candidacy and the present crossroads situation. 
The EP Assistants participated to a very lively “Question and Answer” session where the Academics and the students from Bilgi’s European Studies MA Programme disscussed current topics. 
At the end of the meeting, Laura Batalla Adam, Parliamentary Assistant and Policy Advisor to MEP Salvador Sedo, expressed her satisfaction on her return to İstanbul Bilgi University where she had attended the European İnstitute’s Summer School on “Managing Diversity: EU and Turkey” organised as a part of the EU - Turkey Civil Society Dialogue Programme’s “INTERACT: France, Turkey, EU University Dialogue” Project where the European Institute worked with Sciences Po Paris and IFEA.