The chairman of the House committee on higher and technical education saw “scores of opportunities” that would expand the Philippines’ socio-economic and investment ties with 27-nation European Union.
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, who just concluded his five-day working sojourn to Europe last weekend, said that the Philippine government should further improve and strengthen its ties with the regional bloc not only to ensure the country’s solid economic footing, but also to promote the interest of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Europe.
“Certainly, there are many opportunities for greater interaction and cooperation in trade, investment, and opportunities for Filipino workers in certain parts of the EU that are less affected by the present financial crisis,” Angara said.
Angara is the first Filipino legislator who was invited by the EU to participate in its nearly four-decade old Visitors Programme.
He visited European cities of Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg from June 11 to 15 where he met with members of the 754-man European Parliament (EP) and representatives of EU’s key institutions, including the European Court of Auditors and the European Investment Bank (EIB), both based in Luxembourg.
“I was able to observe firsthand some of the European institutions developed over the years since the development of the community since the 1950s like the Parliament, the European Court of Auditors, European investment bank among others. I also had a chance to speak first hand to elected members of the parliament as well as members of the larger EU bureaucracy,” Angara said.
During his five-day program, he met Dr. Werner Langen,German member of the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and the chairman of the Delegation for relations with the countries of South East Asia and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and United Kingdom’s Emma McClarkin, member of the Group European Conservatives and Reformists and a member of the Committee on Culture and Education of the EP. (Charissa M. Luci)
source: mb.com.ph