DONEGAL minister, Charlie McConalogue, and Bulgarian Ambassador to Ireland, Vanya Andreeva-Malakova, visited St. Columba’s College in Stranorlar on Friday as part of the European Week Outreach Programme.
The initiative, now in its third year, is coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In his address to students at the Twin Towns school, Minister McConalogue explained that to mark the 50th anniversary of Ireland joining the European Union in 1973, it was decided that government ministers would visit schools in every county with an ambassador from a European member state to discuss the relevance of Europe, and the importance of Europe.
“This is my third time doing this and I think it has been really productive,” he said.
Minister McConalogue told students that Ireland’s decision to join the EU in 1972 has been “massively transformative” for the country.
“The fact that we can visit any country in the EU and the fact that we all work and operate together shows how positive the impact of Ireland becoming a full member on January 1, 1973, has been,” he added.
Minister McConalogue and Ambassador Andreeva-Malakova also took part in a podcast with students.
Topics discussed during the recording included the free movement of people across Europe, Ireland’s derogation, education systems and accessibility to healthcare.
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