Visiting the European Parliament

Located on the higher part of Brussels, the parliamentary area looks down its nose at the rest of the city. Diplomatics, politicians, bureaucrats, journalists... most of them with briefcases and dark blue suits. Not many women. Behind, the older, poorer and original Brussels.

Space Léopold
Once you enter into the European Parliament (EP), you may notice that the security is such an important issue. All the visitors have to arrange the guided tour and register in a database a few weeks before they enter into this huge complex of parliaments buildings called “Espace Léopold”, (“Leopoldruimte” in Dutch). When they arrive they must wear a plastic plate with his or her name. -“Aren´t this beautiful plates a waste of money?”- asked a Polish student. “Since 9/11 many things have changed”- asserted the travel guide.

Inside, the buiding is a kind of luxury laberint with wide corridors, spiral staircases and even a fim studio (whose aim is to support the european cinema). We saw the door of the the parliament's press room, named like the assassinated Russian journalist “Anna Politkovskaya”. “It is such a small and even claustrophobic room, with tiny desks for the journalists!”- exclaimed Jeroen De Vuyst, the main teacher who came with us. In a sober style, there are a few scultures. One of them represents the “spirit of the EP”. It is an iron hotchpotch of more than sixty metros of height called “Unity throw diversity”. The guide man said that if you show respect to the others, you can find easier the way to an agreement.

But, are the countries of the European Union that close? The problems with the Lisbon Treat, the vetos and the difficulties to find a President for the EU, for example, deny that. Also the “mélange” of languages: the members of the Parliament have the right to speak in their own language, and not in English or French. There are enough translators to do this funcion.
After a brief explanation of the public post-office sistem of the building, the guide man opened some of the little wooded mailboxes of the parlamentarians, witch weren´t locked: “Here you can see some of the documents that this Belgium politician have asked to be printed. They are in Dutch and French…”. We were really surprised. Despite of being public post, I wouldn´t like that someone read my mail.

Then, we could enter into the oval room, where they celebrate the discussions and meeting. We sat and drank water. Then, two smart waiters served us coffe or tee, while the guide was explaining us that there are double diplomatics than in Washington and they have travelling expenses and assitants for free. The cups of coffe had a european flag printed. 

It is also an unnecessary expense that one week in a month most of the workers of the Parliament have to move to the European Parliament in Strasbourg (France), a building called “Louise Weiss” inspired in the roman amphitheatres.

Finally we entered into the main room: the hemicycle. I was feeling so excited because of this oportunity I had to enter into the place where 736 parliaments represents 500 million people. As well, I visited it the fist day of the European Summits, so I had a lot of expectations around meeting some of the politicians. But finally I was a little bit dissapointed. I didn´t see any “big fish” and the hemicycle was not as big as I thought at first. And also I discovered that the parliamentarians can listen music radio instead of the translation to her language. (Now I understand why some of them nod themself off to sleep!).

Proud to be European Later, in the afternoon, I met with Andrés Barreiro Pardo, one of the Spanish translators of the European Parliament. He had just finished his work, so he was wearing a pin striped blue suit, and also a silver wristwatch and a surfer-hippy wristband. While we were talking in the Irish Pub “O´Farrells”, in Luxemburg Square, just in front of “Space Léopold”, he told me that he used to work as a freelancer, because he wanted to travel all over the world; but now, he prefers the “stability” that brings him working at the European Parliament. “It is a hard work, because you have to be very concentrated as “every mistake may be like a murder”, and “all the speechs are recorded and then typed”. 
          
What he didn´t say is that his base salary is five times a normal one in another company. And that they have huge breaks between the meetings when they are drinking coffee or tee without any kind of stress or just being talk with their mates. As Andrés was hungry, after the beer we went to the african neighbourhood to eat something at “Chez Jackie”. He recomended me to eat spicy chicken wings, and he also ordered manioc pasta and a baked “banana from Cameroon” (as the black waiter said). “I like changing my diet: in the cafeteria of the Parliament we only have European food!”-joked cheerfully.

Meanwhile we were eating, he invited me to see his flat, as he had “good views from there”. And they weren´t only “good”, what I could see from the large window of his living room was amazing: “Léopold Park” and the “Space Léopold” behind. “I am proud of being european”- said Andrés smiling. “This is my place, in the center of Europe. I definitely feel more European than Spanish”.