EMU acting Rector Prof.Dr.Tahir Çelik and our student Moner Murtaja were in Brussels on April 15-16, 2008 holding meetings with top level officials in the European Parliament and the European Commission, and they asked for support in the following issues:

1. To end the violation of our right to education, and to implement the student/teacher exchange programs to include all our students and teachers with contributions from the European Union.
2. To give financial assistance to materialize the projects that include the institutional changes necessary for the Bologna Process.
3. To support our participation in the Bologna Follow-up Group (BFUG) meetings as an observer
4. To be given the opportunity to attend the European Union FP7 projects as an “equal partner”

During the high level contacts held at the European Parliament and the European Commission and especially with the bureaucrats involved in educational matters, that we had fulfilled all the requirements for inclusion in the Bologna Process were explained in detail and that our exclusion from the Process was not based on legal grounds. Basing our judgments on the clause in the “Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus” which states that education is the responsibility of the two communities separately, we made it clear that it was an illegal act of the Greek Cypriot Ministry of Education to comment on educational matters related to the Turkish Cypriots. These explanations were well received, and we were informed that these issues would again be considered by the authorities and the results following the evaluation would be sent to us.

Another significant achievement that highlights the Brussels visit is related to the “7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development” projects. Since 1984, EU Research Funding has been given under these programs. Areas that are of primary significance in respect to the FP7 projects were specified and necessary funding has been allocated. The total amount of funding for the 2007-2013 period is € 50 billion. Following the meeting held with the “Commissioner responsible for Science and Technology”, it was explicitly stated that there was not a single item that could block EMU’s application to FP7 projects. It is of vital significance not only from the standpoint of the employees but that of the university and the country as well that the Academic personnel prepare and submit project proposals in order to benefit from these resources. The European Union FP7 would, in addition to contributing to the research activities executed and the number of publications produced at our university, it would also help in enriching and improving the laboratory facilities on campus. Hence we invite all our Academic personnel to submit to EU FP7 their project proposals. Such attempts, that would help lift the academic isolations and empower our university, would continue in an ever-increasing volume.