School Centre Celje Secondary School of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics Celje, Slovenia

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School Centre Celje Secondary School
of Mechanical Engineering and MechatronicsCelje,
Slovenia

• Europe and Schengen
• Kaindorf, 12 December 2007

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• Slovenia's achievements over the past several
  years have been remarkable. We have had a lot of
  reasons to celebrate.

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• We gained INDEPENDENCE in 1991. And celebrated
  it.
• In January this year we adopted the EURO. Which
  called for another celebration.

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• 13 years later Slovenia joined the EUROPEAN
  UNION. Another wave of celebrations throughout
  the country.

• In a few days' time, on 21 December, we will
  enter the SCHENGEN ZONE along with eight other
  countries, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
  Malta, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
  Which again sounds like a good reason to
  celebrate.

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WHAT DO SOME PROMINENT MEN HAVE TO SAY ON THE
MATTER?

• European Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini
• It's a Christmas gift to all the citizens of
  Europe.

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• Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate
• People will feel that we are part of Europe and
  equal citizens of the EU, which we felt for the
  first time with the introduction of the euro.
• Interior Minister of the Czech Republic Ivan
  Langer
• The abolition of border controls has a
  symbolic significance for us. Schengen is about
  freedom, about security and about trust.

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WHAT DO WE HAVE TO SAY ON THE MATTER?

• We agree with the prominent men
• mentioned above.
• Open implies something good.
• It sounds welcoming.
• Inviting.
• Promising.

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• Like open borders.
• Open doors.
• Open minds.
• Open hearts.

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• We will now feel that we truly are the
  citizens of a much bigger country.

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From 21 December onwards will be able to move
freely from Talin, Estonia in the Baltics, down
to Lisbon, Portugal in the west and as far into
the Mediterranean as the Greek islands.

• How good is that?
• Very good.

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• ASK ANY YOUNG SLOVENIAN HOW THEY
• FEEL ABOUT BEING ABLE TO TRAVEL
• ACROSS THE 3.6-MILLION-SQUARE-METRE
• AREA WITHOUT A PASSPORT AND YOU WILL
• SEE THEM NOD IN APPROVAL.
• Once there are no more border controls, less time
  will be wasted.
• Less wasted time means less wasted money.

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• If so many countries are so much more easily
  accessible, the economic and cultural relations
  should improve, which will definitely affect the
  quality of our lives.
•  The abolition of border controls will affect our
  personal and professional lives too.
• More of us will study outside Slovenia.
• More of us will look for employment on the
  European labour market.

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• More of us will find their
• partners abroad.
• More of us will have bilingual children.
• More of us will regard themselves as THE CITIZENS
  OF EUROPE.

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And we firmly believe that this change is change
for the better.