The Complexities of European Politics

We barely had time to recover from our 7.5 hour flight to Brussels from DC. A few hours after landing and checking into our hotel, we were back in business and learned about the intricacies of the European Union over lunch. Irina Tanasescu, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, gave a fascinating presentation on the evolution of the modern day EU, its three pillars structure, and its institutions and bodies (the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Court of Justice, and the Court of Auditors). We all admitted that despite our jetlag, Irina's passion and excitement for EU history was contagious and provided a solid foundation for our future briefings on NATO, European foreign policy, the Belgian federal system, and the Parliamentary elections, which were taking place during our stay in Brussels.

Over the next 4 days, the more I learned about the European government, the more confused (yet intrigued) I became. The system here is extremely complicated, partly due to the recent establishment of the EU. Some of my takeaways:

• Several speakers have blamed the low voter turnout of 43% for the elections on the fact that there is no buy-in by the national heads of the member states. Similar to the US, heads of state like to take the credit for the good yet blame Parliament for the bad.
  
• It seems that the average European voter does not understand the role that Parliament plays and the power that it has, which concerns many politicians since the election results show a rise of power among the extremist political parties on the right.
• After meeting with an Advisor to the Directorate General of the DG Communication to discuss the Parliament's awareness campaign for the European elections, it is apparent that the low budget of 18 million euros is part of the reason for the ineffectiveness of the communication campaign. Perhaps another reason is the campaign strategy itself. We watched a few viral videos, all of which only had a few thousand hits (terrible, considering that there are 375 million eligible European voters).
• There are 27 EU member states and 28 members of NATO, 21 of which are EU member states. Some European nations are upset at the US for deciding to pursue the war in Iraq without NATO backing, but our speaker, a NATO representative, suggested that from the American point of view it is understandable as the infrastructure of NATO is outdated.
• In the Flanders region alone, one of Belgium's member states, there are 8 official governments. Belgium has 2 official languages: Dutch and French. There are regions and communities within these governments. All of the above makes decision- making extremely complicated and cumbersome.
• While the US is a two-party system, there are many European political parties within each EU member state, which adds to the complexities of reaching out to voters.
• Unlike the Supreme Court, the European Court of Justice is obliged to deal with all cases presented to it.
• The EU member states have lost their sovereignty when it comes the law: national laws must comply with EC law. Each law must be translated into the 23 official languages of the EU.
  

I admit, I'm hooked! And I look forward to studying more about European history/government throughout the rest of my trip and when I return to the States.

In between all our meetings, we managed to get in some sightseeing and other events:

• We took a walking tour of Matonge, a tight-knit African community close to the hotel. We also took a train to Flanders to visit the Royal Museum of Central Africa. I enjoyed the Persona exhibit, which featured unique African masks, but I was disappointed in the lack of details on the atrocities that occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo when the Congo was under Belgian rule.
• I've experienced Belgian food (chocolate, waffles, mussels, & fries) and beer (Duvel is my favorite, though the banana, cherry & coconut flavored beer was yummy).
• I explored the city of Bruges, a little over an hour outside of Brussels by train. The town felt a bit like Disneyland, with its unique architecture and narrow cobblestone streets.
• "Martinis" here are different from the States: less strong and more delicious.
• Three of us went to visit the home of NATO and EU political correspondent, Dr. Nikolas Busse (pictured below with fellows Natalie Jenkins and David L. Howard), who was a 2004 European fellow. He pointed out that compared to the US, race is an issue that is relatively new for Europeans due to the recent surge in immigration within European countries.

We covered a lot of ground in our short time in Brussels. It was sad departing our large group; it will be wonderful to reconnect with everyone during our last stop in Berlin and share stories about our individual discoveries.

On to Hamburg...