GUC Law Students Visit EU Delegation HQ in Egypt

Students of the Faculty of Law and Legal Studies at the German University in Cairo (GUC), under the supervision of Nora Salem, Head of International Law Department, visited the headquarters of the European Union (EU) delegation in Egypt.

They were received by Ambassador Ivan Surkoš, Head of the Delegation, and Deputy Ambassador of the EU Sandra De Waele.

At the beginning of the meeting, Surkoš welcomed the GUC delegation, stressing the importance of the relations between the European Union and Egypt, which indicates the union's projects in the country, including developing education, agriculture, infrastructure, empowering women and youth, rationalizing the use of water.

He also answered student inquiries about many legal, economic and political issues.

The meeting also addressed an expanded dialogue between EU officials and GUC Law Students, highlighting how the Union works, including the duties of each department; in addition to agreements with the Egyptian authorities and their implementation process, the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), ways to obtain academic scholarships, and the Union's policy in support of Marine, Science, and Innovation activities in North African countries, and Horizon Europe, an ambitious 100 billion euro research and innovation program to replace Horizon 2020.

The discussion also tackled aspects of cooperation between the EU and Egypt, including programs designed to support vocational and government education, highlighting the union's plan to promote gender equality, mitigate immigration issues, raise awareness of climate change, as well as review education opportunities, and the Erasmus Plus program.

The delegation also discussed the history and mission of the "Union for the Mediterranean", which is an international organization that brings together twenty-eight countries in the European Union and fifteen countries from the southern and eastern Mediterranean.

The delegation are working to provide a general introduction to the European Union single market and its financial framework with Egypt, including the partnership agreement signed in 2001.

Also, a lecture was organised on challenges and possible solutions of water scarcity in Egypt and the positive role of the EU, as the largest provider of grants in such matters; the EU works to improve the mechanisms of providing water through its so-called European Union project cycle management, which contributes to increasing students' awareness of the water scarcity issues.

Moreover, the meeting discussed the impact of social media on Egyptians as one of the most important sources of information and its effectiveness in reaching and shaping public opinion.

The meeting was attended by research and innovation officer of the European Union Delegation to Egypt Heba Gaber, Programme Manager for Education, Higher Education and Youth Ahlam Farouk, Head of Political Affairs, Press and Information Section Marina Vraila, Head of Cooperation Ibrahim Laafia, Director of the Water & Utilities Program Ayman Ayad, as well as Ayman EL-Shernbiny, Press and Information Officer and Information Officer Hanna Labdh.