The ceremony for the inauguration of the College of Europe, which will have the Pyramid of Tirana as its center, was held this Monday, within the framework of the Berlin Process Summit.
Federica Mogherini, the rector of the College of Europe, as she delivered her speech, declared that the activities at this college will start next year and that the first year will host 31 students.
“We are inaugurating today in the beautiful Tirana, the first office of the College of Europe here in Tirana, which will lead the way for the establishment of our campus, which will start activities next September 2024-2025. It’s really an honor for me, I’m very proud, you see my smile, it’s a real smile.
I would first like to thank all those who made such a thing possible, first of all, our friends, our Albanian partners, Edi, the entire government, the mayor, all the friends who in a few months did everything this and what is to come. I would like to thank the European institutions, Ursula, the member states. All this started less than a year ago, at the EU-Western Balkans Summit here in Tirana”, said Federika Mogherini.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that the first 31 students from the entire Balkans and Europe will start their studies at this college in September 2024.
Von der Leyen described the college as a gift that Europe gives to Albania, but also a great gift that Albania is giving to Europe.
“Here we will have students from Albania, from all over the Western Balkans from the EU. They will lay the foundations as leaders of the future. This college will be the third campus because we have the first in Belgium, the second in Poland and the third here. This college came before Poland became a member country and I am convinced that the same will happen with Albania. Yesterday they opened the application process. Now students from all over Europe can apply. You can do these fantastic studies while exploring the fantastic Europe. This campus is a great gift from Europe to Albania. But not only this, but a great gift that Albania is giving to Europe”, said Von Der Leyen.
Prime Minister Edi Rama during his speech at the inauguration of the European college said that this project is something wonderful and that it happened faster than he thought it would happen.
“Who would have thought that this would happen so quickly. Yesterday the president of the commission claimed the opening of applications, today the doors of the representative office are opened and next year people will start studying at the College of Europe in Tirana. Something is happening and it is so amazing. This is a path full of lessons, and the European Union is a blessing for all our countries, it is a great blessing because it is the deepest source of how to build institutions.
In the end it is the institutions that matter. Our past has been characterized by many bad things that are the result of the lack of institutions, even when some institutions were built they were built from scratch, so the building of democratic institutions cannot be done unless you have the European Union to learn thes . Knowledge is the most extraordinary gift that the European Union teaches us”, said Prime Minister Rama.
