Visiting the EU, Brussels

As part of an educational networking opportunity, students of the Diplomatic Academy of London were invited to visit several government offices around Europe. Our first stop was at the capital of Belgium, Brussels, where we joined civil servants working at the European Parliament and the European Commission in February 2010.

At the European Parliament (EP), speaker Alexandros Karides gave an insightful overview about what work is carried out in this institution. The EP remains to be the only multinational parliament in the world which has at least 23 official working languages. Before the Treaty of Maastricht was implemented, the parliament had no power which is why former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher described the EP as the “Mickey Mouse Parliament”. With 736 members and roughly 9000 people working at the EP, its parliamentary power is more than verified. Furthermore, signing the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007 increased the EP’s involvement in legislative process through extended co-decision with the Council of Ministers. Presidents are elected every 5 years and 20 parliamentary committees and sub-committees exist to tackle the issues of security and defence, human rights, trade and the like. The EP is the place to work if one wanted to become a translator or interpreter, yet with 23 working languages the challenge is to familiarise oneself with at least 5 Europeans languages and have the ability to cross-feed interpret at live meetings.

Jo Vandervappellen at the European Commission (EC) added detail on the Treaty of Lisbon as this defines what the EU can and cannot do, and what means it can use. The treaty reinforces democracy in the EU and its capacity to promote the interests of its citizens on a day-to-day basis. Mr Vandervappellen described the EU as “supranational” as the sovereignty of each member states are handed over to favour the international institution. Keeping ones sovereignty means keeping ones independence, however when joining an integrated structure shared by other countries, all members must amalgamate economically and politically. EU members have exclusive rights to finance and trade sectors and help support, coordinate and supplement actions on education and culture. France has some basic position in the EU, leading the institution to develop its structure by sharing competencies.

In regards to EUs external relations, Jean François Cautain said the EU must remain a global economic player in order to influence external dimensions of internal policies. This includes policies on the environment, trade, agriculture, energy, justice and home affairs. The EU acts as a single legal personality therefore whatever law is passed must be implemented by member states. The strength of the law depends on the country’s position on the matter such as the ban on public smoking. The High Representative of the EU, currently Catherin Ashton from the UK, presides over the Foreign Affairs Council and supervises political dialogue on behalf of others. This is important in placing the EU in the same importance as other international institutions like the UN. The EU has sustained peace within the continent as all members must resolve any humanitarian issues with other states before it becomes an official member. Turkey is currently having problems joining the EU as it does not recognise Cyprus as a state. Without respecting this condition, candidates will fail to join the EU.