Back from EU Adventures

I returned from Brussels this morning, following a 13-hour bus trip that included several stops and a ferry from Germany. Now I am just relaxing; there is no one around and I don't have much to do. Let me recount some things I did...

We drove into Luxembourg City Sunday night and the trip began the next day. Our hotel was small, but nice, with a good breakfast. Monday morning we visited the Luxembourg Parliament for a guided tour. We didn't see much, save for the big chamber, but that's probably all their was. The guide talked about the history of the country, government structure, etc. It was okay; I didn't know anything about the country before. Afterwards, we were free all day to do whatever. Unfortunately, the best museums were closed on Mondays and the town had little to offer except for aesthetics, food, and walking. I sat with some students and our leaders (Jacob and Emilie) at lunch for over two hours. The weather was nice for us, so it was easy to sit and relax. At 4PM it was planned that we would get a tour of some royal building but when we got to the entrance, the guard noted (probably in French) that tours are only in the summer. What! Ok so more time to kill. We went down in the valley and enjoyed a drink before dinner. Day 1 was okay but I didn't see much.

Tuesday we headed for the European Court of Justice. It took a long time to get there because of traffic and we missed a hearing. We ended up with two speakers who were predictably boring. The one was a judge on the Court of First Instance (one step below the ECJ court) and so he could only comment so much on issues and cases. Then we took off for Brussels, about a three hour drive. We met with the Danish permanent representative in Brussels who talked to us about how the EU really works: networks, political lobbying, etc. He was a good meeting. Brussels turned out to be a great city and I knew it would be something close the first night we were there. Lots of people, restaurants, pubs, old buildings, beautiful squares. And of course falafel, which at less than $5 is the way to go for dinner.

On Wednesday we were with the other DIS group that was leaving for Hague later. We visited a member of the Danish cabinet in the Commission for an hour. He was okay, also talking about real issues with in the EU, not a theoretical framework like we have been learning. Denmark has an important post within the Commission. Each commissioner is allotted a portfolio, or caseload of a certain topic. The Danish Commissioner works on agricultural issues, which at ~40% of the EU budget is a huge topic. After that talk, we had some time to walk around so I discovered some more of the city with Pete. Later in the day, we met with Dan Jorgenson, a Danish member of the European Parliament. He was a policy pusher for sure, advocating his Social Democratic party rather than talking broadly about the EP. But he was okay too. Dinner was mussels at Chez Leon. I've never eaten them so it was an experience I guess. They didn't taste like much, but I ate them. At least I can say I've tried them.

Thursday was NATO. We drove up to the compound, and were late of course. Two speakers of an hour each discussed science at NATO and broad issues, respectively. It was kind of boring, but worthwhile to listen to. The latter speaker was in the political division so he was hamstrung in terms of how much he could opine on certain issues. It was good to see NATO and learn a little more about it. We had our political actor interview too; my group met a director in the Danish Agricultural Council, a lobby group for farmers. He had a weird personality and wasn't the easiest person with which to talk. He did note the problems facing his organization and agriculture in the future as farms become fewer while getting bigger at the same time. We met at the hotel and talked about our interviews for a bit, then had free time for dinner. I had another falafel and then walked around with some people and found a good waffle place.

Finally, on Friday we went to an art museum and chocolate factory/store. Both were okay. At 3 we met with the Directorate General for Communications, a Dane, who talked about broad EU issues for an hour. It was fine. I walked around some more and said goodbye to Brussels.

I liked the trip a lot. The group was fun and got along well and I enjoyed meeting the various EU people. I wish we could have done more though. I would have liked to spent more time with these people and others, working on a small project or some other hands-on things. It would have applied what I learned to the real EU. There could have been more focus on the academic part of this trip. But it was okay; but could have been better.

I leave Monday for Poland.