Students from the UK and Finland will put senior European Ministers and Commissioners under the spotlight after winning a high profile British Council writing competition. The competition was sponsored by the British Council, the European Commission Representation in the UK and the Hansard Society.
Four young budding UK journalists will have the opportunity to report directly from the European Summit on an all expenses paid visit to Brussels from 13-15 December. They will be joined by three competition winners from Finland, which currently holds the Presidency of the EU.
Now in its second year, the competition is aimed at 11-19 year-olds and is designed to encourage young Europeans to think critically about the European Union. As part of the judging process, students were asked to write up to 800 words on the topic 'What has the EU done for me?'
Flying the flag for the Euro-Eastern constituency is 17 year-old Matthew Jowers from The Billericay School, Essex, and 13 year-old Jack Candeland from Thorpe St Andrews School in Norwich.
Robert Sturdy, Conservative MEP for the East of England, said: `I would like to congratulate Jack and Matthew for their thought provoking essays. Their research into the EU is impressive and both essays show great understanding of the complexities of European legislation. I commend everyone who took part in this competition and the organisers for their efforts. Europe is important and we need to know about what is being done in our names if we are to create the kind of Europe we want in the future.’
European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallstrom, a competition judge who will be interviewed by the winners in Brussels added: `I’m delighted that the competition was repeated this year and that once again, young people will have the opportunity to find out what an EU summit is really like. The competition winners will also have the chance to gain invaluable journalistic experience at the various meeting and press conferences they will be attending, surrounded by Heads of Government and the international media. The standard of entries was very high this year and the students demonstrated extensive knowledge of EU affairs so I am looking forward to reading their reports and hearing their views of the whole experience.’
