Wilfried Martens Fund aims to keep his political legacy aliveBrussels, 19 December 2014
The Wilfried Martens Fund was launched yesterday at the Palais des Academies in Brussels, prior to the EPP Summit of heads of state and government, in the presence of European Council President Donald Tusk.
The Fund is an initiative of the EPP in cooperation with the widow of Wilfried Martens, Mrs Miet Smet-Martens, and the KU Leuven (University of Leuven), and will seek to keep the legacy of Wilfried Martens alive. Martens, who was a KU Leuven alumnus, passed away last year at the age of 77 after a life devoted to politics, including serving as EPP President from 1990 until 2013, and as the Prime Minister of Belgium over the course of 12 years.
The Wilfried Martens Fund will finance academic education and research opportunities focused on the themes that were dear to Wilfried Martens during his European political career. For example, the Fund will create a ‘Wilfried Martens Scholarship’ for students from non-EU countries to follow an English-language master programme at KU Leuven in 2015-2016. The call for applications will be published in early 2015.
The Wilfried Martens Fund was launched by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, Mrs Miet Smet-Martens, EPP President Joseph Daul, KU Leuven Rector Rik Torfs and KU Leuven Professor Steven Van Hecke.
Speaking to an audience of politicians, journalists and academics, European Council President Donald Tusk said: “I hope that the new Wilfried Martens Fund will offer many opportunities and I am really happy that it will open a road to Europe for young talent from the Eastern Partnership countries. Wilfried and I both knew how important it was in our life to meet people on our way to help us.” He also recalled how much today’s Europe owes to Wilfried Martens and his generation of politicians who shaped the EU towards what it is today. “This fund will keep his name alive”.
Wilfried Martens’ widow, Mrs Miet Smet-Martens, strongly emphasised the role of young people in Europe. “Young people showing a special interest for Europe need to be encouraged. It is they who will become the political and societal leaders of tomorrow’s Europe, and Europe needs them. If we can achieve that with this Fund young people really engage in the European construction, I think we will have achieved our goal”.
EPP President Joseph Daul highlighted the current political relevance of the Fund’s topics that were central to Wilfried Martens. He paid tribute to Martens’ heritage for the EPP and the EU. “The last years, Wilfried Martens was very active in the countries of the Eastern Partnership, like Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. Just like he did with the former Eastern European countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he understood the importance of helping those countries to become real democracies. In his eyes, those countries had the vocation to become one day members of the European Union”.
Finally KU Leuven Rector Rik Torfs spoke about the exemplary role of Wilfried Martens: “He was a true thinker, a man with a deep faith, and that is in my eyes of paramount importance for the future of Europe. I can’t imagine a revival of Europe without deep, philosophical, profound ideas, and in this Wilfried Martens was really a lighting example to all of us”.
The EPP provided the initial capital to launch the Wilfried Martens Fund. Crowdfunding will provide the additional means.
Donations can be directly submitted to the account of the ‘KU Leuven Wilfried Martens Fund’ (IBAN: BE45 7340 1941 7789 – BIC: KREDBEBB) with the address ‘KU Leuven, Oude Markt 13, 3000 Leuven’, while mentioning 400/0011/02405.
More information on the Wilfried Martens Fund can be found at www.kuleuven.be/wilfriedmartensfund.
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