The power of positive thinking?

I’ve wanted to write this post for a while. But given today’s results of the Irish referendum, it seems especially appropriate.

When we toured the Parliament last week, I was struck by this structure.

Called Confluences, it is a 36 meter high sculpture in stainless steel. Its parts hang from the ceiling but are not held together at any other point. Touch one part and the whole thing moves. Crafted by Belgian artist Olivier Strebelle, its name has various meanings:

–noun

1.	a flowing together of two or more streams, rivers, or the like: the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

2.	their place of junction: St. Louis is at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

3.	a body of water formed by the flowing together of two or more streams, rivers, or the like.

4.	a coming together of people or things; concourse.

5.	a crowd or throng; assemblage.

On the tour, our speaker explained the symbolism of this statue was intentionally left ambiguous. Does the sculpture represent the joining of the 27 Member States to form the EU? Or does it represent Strasbourg, the other seat of the European Parliament and, as I mentioned earlier, the historical bone of contention between EU pioneers France and Germany? Is it a symbol that the EU faces; where touching one element/policy area/nation state/issue affects the whole? Does it represent governments at all? Does it represent Europeans coming together to celebrate their common history and geography as Europeans?

Throughout this whole trip, when certain officials have spoken of the EU they have called it the “EU project.” This process of integrating almost 400 million people, 27 nation states, 23 languages (so far) and 15 economies into one voice is an ongoing, evolutionary one. I find this concept and the acceptance of its premise by many within and without the EU, fascinating.

The EU’s motto is “United in diversity.” It sounds pretty and is a noble goal but how feasible is it? When we were at the German Bundesbunk school, one pupil mentioned the older generation’s apprehension to adopt the Euro. But she said the younger generations are more willing because they don’t have that sense of history invested in the German Mark, the Italian Lira or the French Franc. She said as the EU continues to bring prosperity to Europe, attitudes will change. Now, this seems to have hit the nail on the head.

In the absence of a common history, language, culture or any element that traditionally unites a people, shared affluence can be used to create a nation. This isn’t new for Canadians. That’s exactly what John A. MacDonald did to British North America in 1867. The hope is that in time this common culture will be fostered. Has this happened in Canada? If you ask me, no, it has not.

But can it happen in Europe? With the failure of the Constitutional Treaty—whose content is strikingly similar to the Lisbon Treaty save a few nationalist trappings like a common EU flag and national anthem— in 2006 and the failure of this first hurdle for the Lisbon Treaty, it doesn’t look good. It seems like nationalism—that sense that I am a member of this state and that means I’ll do whatever it takes to see it safe and posper –like we see in the United States and Russia, is proving to be the most enduring form of unity.

But it’s an interesting experiment. I, for one, will keep my eye on developments.

TOUR-ists no more

The end has come and with it a bitter end. Yes, the 2008 EU Study Tour ended last night. And just like we had 3 weeks earlier, we packed into a restaurant ate, drank wine and were merry.

But this time we knew each other and the conversation was loud, animated and the wine flowing. After speeches from the Tour organizers Dr. Alexandre Berlin and Ed Lavelle (our fearless leaders and the older men on the left and right in the picture below) we erupted into a fit of pictures. Here are a selection.

I have to say, I’ve very much enjoyed the tour. It took me to places I never thought I’d see and taught me a lot about a lot of different issues. I’ve also met some great people here that will not soon be forgotten.

Then we went to another bar and drank some more.

Yes, Mr. President

The Tour ended on a high note. We went to the European Parliament for a long day of parliamentary politics. Much has been said about the EU’s democratic deficit—and most of it is true. When the Parliament was first set up in 1952, parliamentarians had no power and operated in an advisory fashion. Even today Members of European Parliament (MEPs) can’t really propose legislation, that’s the job of the Commission. But it was still interesting to hear from their side.

The obvious highlight of the day came in the morning when we met the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pottering.

For those of us not familiar with the inner workings of European Parliaments (and less face it, Europeans are not even experts as one of our speakers, a communications representative, had to defer to his assistant many times), the President is similar to the Speaker of the House in Canada. He has to make sure order is kept and presides over the session (with its 785 MEPs). His signature is needed on all legislation. It is also the President that represents the Parliament externally and so Pottering gets to travel abroad on the EU’s dime.

And so when he arrived in the small room where we had sat for 20 minutes awaiting his arrival, it was like meeting a President of a country, not a Parliament. People who had left the room two minutes earlier to go to the bathroom were quickly ushered back in and the room instantly filled with a dozen more bodies as his entourage flowed in. We stood respectfully when he walked in and clapped after we were introduced. He talked about who he was and the like--and was pretty funny too which was a surprise--but I can’t remember any of it now. What I can remember was the Q&A afterward where I asked him a question. My questions was, “What do you attribute the declining voter turnout in European Union elections to? Especially considering turnout has declined as the Parliament has gotten more power?” The answer: the media. He said voter apathy is a result of the media reporting only bad things about the EU. He then gave an example about how in light of the European Central Banks tenth anniversary a pole found two-thirds of Germans thought the Euro was a good idea. But the paper used as its headline “1/3 of Germans unhappy with Euro.” He ended by saying, “If the media reported better things about the EU, perhaps people would like it more. See what you can do about that.” What’s funny is he didn’t even know I was a journalism student.

The rest of the day paled in comparison. We got to talk to some MEPs (a Irishman, a Brit and a Hungarian). All were great—but especially the Hungarian’s take on Enlargement was irreverent.

Then we saw a plenary session of the Parliament where I was literally 5 minutes away from hearing Javier Solana (aka the EU's foreign ambassador essentially aka an international relations student's idea of heaven) give a progress report to Parliament.

So That's What They Were Fighting For

Strasburg is a small town on the border of France and Germany. For a population of 270, 000 it has caused quite the international brew ha ha.

The city is in the famous Alsace-Lorraine region. Due to its rich mineral wealth, it has been passed back and forth between France and Germany for a century, before WWII finally gave it back to France.

We were only there for a day (less than 24 hours in fact), but it was enough to know that it was worth the fight. It is a beautiful city.

It is also home to the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights which explains our time there.

The Govenator

Like I said, one of the amazing things about the Tour is the chance to meet interesting people. Case in point: today.

After a stimulating day at the European Central Bank, we returned to Hachenburg for another economic lecture. This one was from David Murray Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada. He gave a talk about the inflation targeting of the Bank and the economic outlook for Canada. As a big shot in the Bank, his talk was a bit biased. According to him Canada is doing just great despite the rising currency and disparity across the country. But that's national monetary policy for you. It was still slightly thrilling to have a brush with that kind of fame.

Who Says Monetary Policy Isn't Riveting?

Our time in Germany seems dedicated to economic issues. As an enthusiastic observer of the economy, this isn’t really a problem for me.

Today we spent some time at the European Central Bank and let me tell you what a swanky place that is. The security checks we went through were more extensive than our time at the Commission and Court combined. They gave us visitors badges, took us through a metal detector and escorted us through two elevators. All this despite the fact that the ECB doesn’t even have money reserves in the building we were in. It was pretty exciting.

We started the morning in the room that the ECB Governing Council sits at to decide on interest rate cuts, which was quite exciting.

All in all the presentations were solid and very informative. True to their reputation, they were efficient and reserved. We were treated very nicely. On our arrival there was a plethora of swag awaiting us: a hardcover book on monetary policy, two brochures on the Eurosystem, a pen and Euro post-its; very impressive indeed. The bank didn’t skimp on food either. After every break there was tea and coffee and scrumptious snacks awaiting us and a beautiful lunch was served in the lounge we were kept in.

The only thing that took away from the day was the fact that I didn’t get to keep the our visitors badge.

A Little Piece of Home...

Frankfurt is North America. That is the best way I can think of to describe the city. I had read that during WWII Frankfurt had been almost completely destroyed but I never really understood that could eliminate a city. Well, after visiting Frankfurt (at least its streets and downtown) I believe it. There was almost no difference between the Frankfurt I saw and the Toronto of home.

Judge for yourself.

My First European Shopping Spree

I cracked. I couldn’t help myself. It was bound to happen. It’s been about a week and a half and I have not bought any new clothes. We’ve had two free days and countless nights to unleash our Euros on unsuspecting European stores. But I have refrained. I have been prudent. You see, there are some people here only for the tour, while others are here for the tour and accompanying internships. But I’m here for exorbitantly longer. I can’t afford to waste money on things like shopping sprees to H&M, too many meals out, foreign beer or the like. And so I have resisted, expelling my Euros with considerable care. But even I have my limits. It happened on Friday, on a break from our presentations. Eurostat is the collector and disseminater of European statistical information. That’s all well and good, but the important thing to know is that it is located underneath a mall. So in twenty minutes (the time I had left after a quick lunch) I did some damage.

It’s really not that bad. It was all very reasonable—items that can be used for both the tour, internships and otherwise. And it was cheap too. I got everything for 50 Euros. That should ameliorate my guilt a little.

Photographic Evidence

Today was the last day at the Commission. So to commemorate it (and the two great lunches had there) I offer you this pictorial representation of my lunch.


All for 8 euros.

Give me an "A"

Saturday was a beautiful day spent in Antwerp—except for the fact that it was rainy and I was ill prepared for the cold.

We started the day in the red light district. We met with Patsy Sorenson, the founder of Payoke, Belgian NGO that provides assistance to victims of trafficking of human beings. Sorenson is an amazing woman. But more on that later.

After Payoke we had an audience with the mayor of Antwerp in the most beautiful city hall I’ve ever seen.

It definitely beats the hell out of Toronto’s or Ottawa’s. There were beautifully ornate woodwork ceilings and walls with wooden banisters, low hanging chandeliers, marble floors and gorgeous artwork on the walls.

Every room was more beautiful than the next. The chapel had five murals depicting marriage ceremonies throughout history: the druids, the Romans, Middle ages, medieval times and Renaissance. I took the time to get hitched myself

(Note to my family: Don’t worry, the groom is gay).

Walking through the building, my little historian’s heart fluttered in my chest.

Step outside city hall and it’s a huge square (Belgians seem to enjoy squares as there’s one in Brussels as well). On the left is a church, in front of you is a fountain that has no obvious drainage system. From one of the balconies you can see the spires of a church in the distance.

Walking around these buildings and squares, it’s a bit disheartening to think of the stone and concrete and glass that await me in Canada. Who would want to go back to modern architecture when you can live, eat and walk on your own history? North American buildings seem so boring and bland, almost cold in comparison. I do appreciate them in some ways (for example, like this (link the new ROM)). But I wonder if Europeans understand how lucky they are. They have something that North Americans never will: easy access to their own history.

More than shelter, architecture provides a collective sense of history, a communal memory. Germans can take pride knowing their style of lodging is different than the stucco of Mediterranean homes.

From my travels (both now and when I was younger visiting Portugal), I’ve been amazed at the daily reminders of history in various European cities: cobble stoned streets, coat of arms etched into buildings, gothic cathedrals on every corner. I wonder if Europeans are amazed by them as I am. What do citizens of Antwerp think when they go to City Hall? Are they as amazed as I am? Somehow, I doubt it. With buildings like most things, if you grow up with something, you take it for granted. Maybe it’s because I’m a history student, or because I’m from Canada—a infant nation compared to the old stewards in Europe—but I hope they appreciate it.

The Mecca of Bureaucracy

After a day of meetings with the Canadian Mission and then a lovely reception at the ambassador's house, we spent Friday at the European Commission. A steel and glass monstrosity in the middle of Brussels, the Berlaymont's size is overwhelming.


After an hour of milling about in the lobby, we were finally ushered past the metal detectors, our visitor's pass in hand and into the lobby, up the elevators (one of 42, by the way) and into the Jean Monnet theatre.



This is the actual meeting room where Member States meet and hammer out the business of Union. We managed to keep our cool for most of the morning, listening attentively and using the EU-star-emblazoned notepads and pencils provided on the desks. But after lunch, things got a little crazy....




But soon enough, it was back to seriousness and back to work.


The Commission also has a beautiful cafeteria. A 900-seat restaurant, it's a mix of cuisines and languages where steak is served beside French fries and broiled fish is offered next to pizza. Anything you could ever want is there. I had (what I think was) steak, French fries, salad (macaroni and mixed greens priced by weight), a bottle of water and a crepe (which was the best I've ever tasted). All for 7 euros! Thank you for subsidized European food! We're back there on Monday and I can't wait.