The Regional Under Secretary for European Affairs and External Cooperation, Rodrigo Oliveira, signed yesterday in Lisbon a protocol for the creation of a scholarship for the College of Europe. The protocol signed with the Secretary of State Assistant to the Minister and of European Affairs, Miguel Morais Leitão, provides the awarding of an annual scholarship to an Azorean applicant for a postgraduate course at the renowned institution, the first and most important under the specialised postgraduate studies  in European affairs.

According to Rodrigo Oliveira, "this is a key initiative for continuing to strengthen of action of the Azores within the European Union. With the conditions now created, one Azorean student will have the possibility of attending the prestigious College of Europe, among 400 students from over 40 countries, and pursuing a 10-month speciality course on the campuses of Bruges, Belgium, or Natolin, Poland."

As stated by the Regional Under Secretary, "in addition to the more traditional areas like International Relations and Diplomacy of the European Union, this initiative covers specialised courses on Law, Economics, Political Science and Administration, which considerably extends the range of applicants and their academic training."

The evaluation and selection of an Azorean applicant will be carried out by the Selection Committee for the College of Europe, which operates under the Directorate-General for European Affair and in accordance to criteria previously agreed with the College. The jury will include a member indicated by the Azorean Government.

The awarding of the scholarship is subject to curriculum analysis, at a first phase, followed by the approval in selection tests. Under the terms of the general rules, it may comprise the full or partial tuition fees, accommodation and food, including a round trip between the Azores and Bruges or Natolin.

Rodrigo Oliveira urged for the need of "a careful preparation of applications, which must meet the requirements of the College of Europe in the curriculum analysis. Applicants must have a solid academic education; they are required to have completed a degree with a final average of 13 or over. If the degree is not completed during the application period, applicants should have a good academic record that allows them to complete the degree with the average required.

Furthermore, the admission to the College of Europe requires the submission of letters of recommendation from two university professors attesting the applicant's academic skills and aptitude for attending the postgraduate course." Applicants will be also required to submit language proficiency certificates awarded by Language Institutes which should attest the applicant's fluency in English and French. The selection tests are in both languages so as the courses taught.

In this regard, the Regional Under Secretary stressed that the Regional Government "considers  be of great interest to join the University of the Azores to this initiative." The government official added that he has already started to coordinate this "collaboration with the Jean Monnet Chair by disseminating this initiative in the Region, which will be followed by the preparation of the selected students. In this context, the member of the jury to be indicated by Regional Government should be a personality with prestige and recognition associated to the Jean Monet Chair, "added the Under Secretary.

Applications for the course to start in September 2013 will open in the fourth quarter of this year. The Azorean Government will promote the dissemination of this initiative and the respective access rules during the month of September.

"This is an excellent opportunity for Azorean youngsters in terms of professional perspectives within the European Union and the Autonomous Region of the Azores, which has the greatest interest in contributing to the training of specialised staff in various areas related to European affairs," stated Rodrigo Oliveira.

Other important issues were addressed during the meeting with Miguel Morais Leitão, including the monitoring of the main ongoing discussions within the EU framework for 2014-2020 and the coordination of the main positions taken by the Government of the Azores and the ORs that "were embodied  in a memorandum between the Governments of Portugal, France and Spain and the ORs signed in 2010.

This document continues to be the guiding principle of the joint positions position between the two levels of power towards EU institutions," recalled the Regional Under Secretary for Affairs European and External Cooperation. The government official also stressed the important of a proximity relation with "the Portuguese State that defended the views and aspirations of Outermost Regions."