On Saturday 4 March 2017, the College of Europe's debating club “Europe Outside The Box” hosted a delegation of Ukrainian students and young professionals for a British parliamentary-style debating competition. The Ukrainian debaters had arrived in Brussels one week earlier and spent the week visiting European institutions and decision makers, as well as the Mission of Ukraine to the EU and various civil society stakeholders. They further used the week to practise intensely for the debating tournament via daily training sessions with experienced debating experts, among them the student Adam BERNSTEIN, Co-President of “Europe Outside The Box”.
The tournament on Saturday was organized by student Aleksander MÄKELÄ, Co-President of “Europe Outside The Box”, who also acted as one of the judges. After two intense rounds of debating, only the best four teams qualified for the final round. The topic for the final debate was whether Ukraine will become an EU Member State in the future.
After a passionate debate, the judges awarded the win to the Opening Opposition speakers: while three of the best four teams were pairings of two Ukrainian students, the winning team was formed by Ukrainian student Yaroslav KULII together with College of Europe student Tobias PESCH, who had benefitted from the weekly “Europe Outside The Box” training sessions since the winter term.
