European Union

The Scottish parliament was our final visit for the trip.  The parliament building had a remarkable modern architecture design and incorporated both Scottish nature and history into the building.  It was commissioned in the early 2000s and many architects submitted ideas. The winner, Enric Miralles, an architect from Spain, designed the building based on a tree branch. The inside of the building is very modern, mixing concrete with stainless steel and wood.  The design has received mixed reviews.  Many have complained that the modern design is not suitable for a government building nor is appropriate for its location across from the Holyrood Palace.

The Scottish parliament itself dates back to the early 13th century, but was adjourned in 1707 when Scotland and England signed the treaty to become the United Kingdom. It was not until 1999, after a Scottish referendum passed, giving Scotland a new devolved Scottish Parliament that the Parliament met again.  Currently, the parliament consists of 129 members representing all the people of Scotland. For every citizen there are 8 members of parliament who represent them.

Similar to the referendum that passed establishing a devolved Scottish Parliament, Scotland is faced with a new referendum that will dramatically change its political system. This September the country will vote on whether to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent country or to stay as a part of the United Kingdom.  This election is not only historic in the fact that it may give Scotland independence but also because it will allow 16 and 17 year olds are to vote for the first time. In a presentation to our class, Scottish National Parliament Member, Colin Beattie was confident Scotland would vote for cessation.  He explained that an independent Scotland would be better for the economy and all the people as a whole.

Our visit to parliament made it clear why Scotland is such an important topic to the European Union.  Scotland’s fight for independence dates back to the days of William Wallace.   However, the driving force for Scotland’s independence is no longer a figure portrayed by Mel Gibson, but a strong, confident and organized political party.  The Scottish National Party continues to attempt to gain support for Scottish citizens in their continued claim for independence.  If Scotland is successful in succeeding from the United Kingdom, the European Union will play a large role in the development of its independence.  The European Union is the second largest trading partner of Scotland, behind the United States, and an independent Scotland would have greater opportunity to increase trade within the EU.  As well it would give Scottish citizens a greater voice within Europe.  With the current Scottish Parliament being a functioning government separate from Westminster, Scotland has already proven their ability to govern themselves. Come September the eyes of the European Union and the world will be on Scotland as they make this decision.  It will be a fascinating story to watch.

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Our time in Brussels was perhaps the most directly European Union-centric that we have had so far. After all, it is the de facto capital of the EU, and is home to its three major decision-making bodies of government–the Commission, the Parliament, and the Council–all of which we were fortunate enough to visit. Though we have been learning about the functions of the EU for several months now, these visits really allowed once-abstract facts and figures to become real to us. For instance, being able to sit around a table in the Council building where crucial world policy decisions are made really brought the purpose of the European Union to life

In addition to seeing these three vital governmental institutions, we also met with Momchil Jelev, a representative from Johnson & Johnson living and working in Brussels. Mr. Jelev spoke to us about the way businesses function in the relatively new global society that the EU has created, from concrete issues like government regulations, to more human-based ones like public health outreach to less fortunate nations in Europe and the world as a whole.

While every country we have visited has taught us something valuable about the European Union, Brussels was really the place where its role in terms of government and the world stage became clear to us. It is such a unique organization of individual member-states brought together  from across very different cultures and parts of Europe, and seeing the seat of that power was an amazing experience.

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Edinburgh, Scotland

From its prehistoric beginning as a hillfort, following periods of Celtic and Germanic influence, Edinburgh became part of the Kingdom of Scotland during the 10th century. It grew through the Middle Ages and has become the Scotland’s largest town. Edinburgh regularly polls as one of the best places to live, having won more than 12 UK Best City Awards in 8 years to 2013. Edinburgh has the strongest economy of any city in the United Kingdom outside of London and the highest percentage of professionals in the UK. Known primarily for brewing, banking, and printing and publishing in the 19th century, Edinburgh’s economy is now based mainly on financial services, scientific research, higher education, and tourism. As of March 2010 unemployment in Edinburgh is comparatively low at 3.6%, and remains consistently below the Scottish average of 4.5%. with a population of roughly 480,000 Edinburgh has a high proportion of people aged between 16 and 24 than the Scottish average, but has a lower proportion of those classified as elderly or pre-school. Since the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, many migrants from the accession states, particularly Poland and the Baltic states, have settled in the city, with many finding work in the service industry. Edinburgh is home to many influential people in society such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, and Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. This city is not a current member of the European Union and makes for an interesting case study while analyzing the differences between member and non-member EU states.

An evening at the Scotish Storytelling Centre celebrating Rabbie Burns.

Burns Night Dinner

Our first night we had the chance to celebrate a traditional Scottish holiday, Burns Night. At the Scottish Storytelling Centre, we were taken through the life of Robert Burns through anecdotes of his life and a selection of his poems and songs by three Scottish storytellers and a harpist. We were encouraged to sing along to his songs, and had the chance to try traditional Scottish food. The starter was cock-a-leekie soup, followed by haggis, neeps and tatties and cranachan. The haggis was presented by a storyteller to the room, who then recited the Old to the Haggis before stabbing it and splitting the casing open. Haggis is a sheep’s heart, liver and lungs mixed with onion, oatmeal and spices and then cooked inside a sheep stomach for several hours. The dish was received with mixed reactions from the students, but everyone did try it! The night ended with Robert Burns’ most famous song, Auld Lang Syne. Students and other attendees spontaneously stood hand in hand around the room and sang the chorus several times. Overall, the night was a fantastic way of introducing Scottish traditional culture.

Holyrood Palace

On Saturday morning we had the unique opportunity to tour the Holyrood Palace, the residence of the British royal family when they visit Edinburgh. Using headsets, we were taken through the Palace’s hallways and rooms, where we were able to see and learn about the preserved rooms, furniture, artwork and decorations. Through these, we were able to get a glimpse of royalty. The tour gave a brief history of the significance of British royalty. In particular, we learned about the life of Queen Mary of Scots through touring her chambers and seeing her jewelry and other belongings, and the impact her life had on Scotland.

Rest of Saturday

After the tour of Holyrood Palace students had the chance to tour Edinburgh on their own. Many of the popular sites were Edinburgh Castle and the Edinburgh Museum. Edinburgh Castle lies up the Royal Mile from Holyrood Palace, in Edinburgh’s Old Town. Amongst the more modern restaurants and souvenir shops, the Royal Mile also gives a glimpse of historical sites including churches. Edinburgh Castle offered breathtaking views of Edinburgh, though while we were standing on the battlements there was heavy winds and hail. The Scottish weather lived up to its reputation as being extremely unpredictable, with multiple rain showers, plenty of clouds and a few beautiful moments of sunlight.

Hairy Coo Tour of the Highlands

On Sunday we took a tour of the highlands on an orange-colored bus named Dolly that resembled a hairy highland coo, complete with ginger fringe, horns and a brown tongue. Our fearless leader, bus driver and tour guide, Donald, was excellent, funny, and knowledgeable about all aspects of Scottish history and culture. One of Donald’s goals for the tour was to debunk the popular Mel Gibson film Braveheart, which is very factually inaccurate. On that note, our first stop was the William Wallace Monument. We walked up a hill in the pouring rain to reach the monument, which has 246 steps to the top. William Wallace was an important Scot who stepped up in a time of need in the Scottish fight against the British King Edward I. Unlike how he was portrayed in Braveheart, he was actually a middle class man who dressed well and actually wore pants! He became a thorn in King Edward’s side through guerrilla warfare and after brief success unfortunately was caught, hung, drawn and quartered. He is seen as a hero in Scottish history, and there have 38 memorial/monuments in his honor. It is questionable if he actually yelled ‘FREEEEEDOM’, but we like to think he did. We also passed Stirling Castle. A popular stop was Castle Doune, as it has been used for exterior shots of Winterfell from Game of Thrones and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We stopped for lunch in Callandar, a quaint highland town. Most of the class had fresh fish and chips. It was obvious geographically that we had truly entered the highlands, due to the change in landscape, most notably the snow-capped mountains. We headed for the mountains in search of the namesake of our bus tour company, the hairy coos. With the watchful eye of Donald, who grew up on a cattle farm, we were able to get up close and personal to the coos. Led by the matriarch Fiona, we were able to feed the coos bread and get an up close and personal look at them and snap some pictures (while avoiding the ‘hairy coo goo’, as they really like bread). Our next stop was the scenic Loch Katrine, which has inspired writers such as Jules Verne. There was snow all around, and we enjoyed a walk around the Loch. Finally, we made our way to Deanston Distillery. As scotch is one of Scotland’s largest exports, this was culturally relevant. It is estimated that 39 bottles of scotch are exported every second. We enjoyed seeing the process of how the scotch is made, and the sheer chemistry and art. Deanston has only 12 employees in their distillery, and make an effort for all of their ingredients to come from Scotland. It was a fitting end to our tour.

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Hello!

We are now in Brussels and have been here for a few days! More adventures to come in the capital of Europe. Yesterday we escaped the big city of Brussels and took a train about an hour away to the beautiful medieval town of Bruges. Bruges is in the northwest of Belgium and within a few miles of the coast. It is located in the West Flanders area of Belgium. The native tongue is primarily Flemish, which is different from the French we had become accustomed to hearing on the streets of Brussels. These two languages are a big part of the history of Belgium, and it was fascinating to see how two cities so close to each other in one country could speak completely different languages.

Bruges has a little over 100,000 inhabitants and is built on a series of canals. While traveling the old medieval roads, it felt very similar to a walk in Venice, Italy. Bruges has actually been referred to as the “Venice of The North”. Historically, this city has had significant importance to the entire European economy because of its port. It was at one time the chief commercial city of the world. Its strategic location made it easily accessible for trade and remains to this day the second biggest port in Belgium. While exploring this city, it became evident how far Europe, and now the European Union have come economically. This small city used to be the center of European commerce, while the European Union has now essentially become the largest economic area in the world. After some exploration and a quick lunch, we headed over to Kantcentrum, the lace museum in Bruges. Lace has been produced in this city since the 1400s. The city was the worldwide center for the textile business, which had a massive economic impact. We had the chance to look at all the beautiful pieces of lace kept in the museum, and then had our own personal lace-making class. It is amazing what beautiful works of art these older women are capable of making with their own hands. As we made our lace, we started off whining a bit about how bad we were and how difficult it was, but in the end, we all stuck with it and had a great afternoon! Many of us ended up taking our masterpieces home. Overall, Bruges was a great day trip for our group.

Lace

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Brussels, Belgium

Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union. Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been a principal center for international politics. Host to principal EU institutions and the headquarters of NATO, the city has grown from a 10^th-century fortress town to a sizeable city. Historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels has seen a major shift to French since Belgian independence in 1830. Today, although the majority language is French, the city is officially bilingual. Serving as the center of administration for Europe, Brussels’ economy is largely service-oriented. However, Brussels has a high unemployment rate, reaching as high at 20.6% in July of 2012. With a population of over 10 million, Brussels is home to a large number of immigrants from Turkey, Morocco, Rwanda, and Burundi. Although the country has Roman Catholic roots, most people in Brussels do not practice any religion and in general, the population of Brussels is younger than the national average and the gap between rich and poor is wider. The architecture in Brussels is diverse, and spans from the medieval constructions on the Grand Place to the postmodern buildings of the EU institutions. Throughout the year, the city has become the polyglot home of numerous international organizations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants and continues to act as a hub for all international politics.

City orientation after a very early morning flight!

Engaging the European Union

The European Union is made up of three different democratic institutions that work together to ensure the success of the EU as a whole. We had the opportunity to visit each of these institutions during our time in Brussels and attend briefings at each location. The first briefing we attended was at the European Parliament. The European Parliament is the institution that represents “the people of the EU”. It is comprised of 766 members who are elected by all the people in the EU in a general election. Each member state has a set amount of parliamentary members based on population with a current maximum of 99 and a minimum of 6. The parliament primarily meets in Brussels but also has monthly meetings in Strasbourg France. Their main responsibilities are to jointly approve EU laws with the Council of the European Union, monitor democratic behavior throughout the EU, and approve the final EU budget. A member of the communications team who dealt with translations into Swedish, Pernila Johnson, conducted our briefing. We learned a lot about how the parliament works from day to day, their upcoming May elections, and how our briefer ended up her particular position at the parliament.

The next day we headed to the Council of the European Union and met with the media monitoring manager Johan Slotboom. Our briefing was conducted in one of the actual council meeting chambers and we all selected a country to sit at! The council represents the “member states” of the EU and is made up of all the ministers of each member state. Their primary goals are to approve EU law alongside the parliament and represent the EU on international agreements. The European Council, which is the heads of states of each member state, also meets here 6 to 8 times a year. Our briefing began with a quick overview of the council as a whole and then we all asked our own individual questions primarily on international affairs. We found out during the meeting that the Turkish Prime Minister was actually on the floor above us discussing his countries application to the EU. Our briefer, Johan Slotboom, was extremely knowledgeable and had 17 years of prior experience in the commission who now works as a Media Monitoring Manager.

The final institution we visited was the European Commission. The commission is considered the “executive” branch of the EU and is comprised of 28 commissioners who reflect the “ideals of the EU”. The commissions primary duties is to ensure that EU law is being applied correctly in member states and proposing legislation. Our briefer was a member of the external speaking team Mark Corner. His presentation was great and energetic. He knew that we had already been to the two other institutions so he was able to get into specific knowledge about current laws in place and what the future of the EU may look like.

Group photo with our amazing speaker, Johan Slotboom, who works as a Media Monitoring Manager for the European Council.

Listening to Johan Slotboom, Media Monitoring Manager for the European Countil, tell us about how the European Council works and current important issues that Council Ministers are working on.

Our host at the Council, Dominique, filling us in on what we would be doing during our time at the European Council.

Each one of us got to “represent” a European Member state during our session at the European Council.  The seats were arranged exactly how they are during legitimate Council meetings and our session was run according to Council standards.

A session at Parliament, listening to Translator Pernila Johnson talk to us about the European Parliament and how it functions.

A session at the Commission listening to a dynamic and well informed Mark Corner, member of the External Speaker Team tell us about the European Commission and some of the current issues that members of the Commission are working on.

This stained glass window is a small part of the decorations inside a section of the Council building dedicated to honoring the home country of the current President of the Council.  Right now, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras holds the position.

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We arrived in Riga, Latvia and were struck by the immediate recognition of Soviet Union influence throughout the city as many of the original standardized and uniform buildings still remain from the regime. However, as we continued to tour the city we noticed a dispersion of buildings both historical and new providing an eclectic and interesting environment.

Latvia maintains its identity by the strong traditions of language and music.  The country is currently made up of a little more than 2 million people and known throughout Europe for having a thriving port, strong forest industry, efficient transit, and pharmaceutical and technological advancements.  Latvia, which is home to approximately 1 million Russian speakers, still has a very prominent association with Russia. Since the time of its independence from the Soviet Union, Latvia has been trying to rebuild the country but with this have come struggles. They are currently dealing with detrimental issues including a declining birth rate, economic corruption, and a continued dependency on Russia, which makes the rebuilding process difficult.  Additionally, many students decide to move away to neighboring countries after school due to more promising job offers.  This contributes to the declining Latvian presence.

We had the opportunity to meet with a current law attorney who helped us understand all aspects of Latvian government, law, and culture in comparison to the United States. He explained the benefits of being a part of the European Union as a symbol of commitment to Europe as well as discussing the recent transition to the euro currency.

A day trip south to visit the Museum of Genocide Victims in Lithuania proved to be an eye-opening experience for the entire class. The museum highlighted the repression taken against the inhabitants of Lithuania by occupational regimes from 1940 to 1990 as well as material on the anti-Soviet and anti-Nazi resistance.  During the soviet occupation, citizens were imprisoned, interrogated, arrested, and discriminated against by the powerful KGB.  We were able to walk through the KGB prison and witnessed the interrogation rooms, execution chambers, and the overwhelming lack of independence the inhabitants had. Approximately 25,000 of the 200,000 people arrested were killed.  It was a museum that truly demonstrated the vulnerability of the group and allowed us to better understand how terrible of a time it was for the Latvian people.

We visited the Riga ghetto where imprisonment, mass shootings, forced labor, starvation, and exile were regular occurrences to the Jewish community from 1941-1943, which at that time were controlled by the Nazi and auxiliary police. About 30,000 Latvian Jews and 20,000 German, Czech, and Austrian Jews were victims of these horrific events. A memorial was created at the Rumbula and Biķernieki forests as a symbol of destroyed community and the horror of the holocaust.  Because of these horrific historical events, Latvian people continue to stand strong, hopeful, and appreciative of the opportunities they have today.

Additionally, the class was able to participate in some cultural experiences to add

more dimensions to our understanding of the country. We watched the Riga Dinamos win in hockey and we gathered as thousands of people crowded the streets to move library books from their old library to the new national library in Riga.

Our trip to Latvia was instrumental in our understanding of European history.  We hope to apply the knowledge of Latvian history, culture, economy, and governmental policy to our next country of study, Belgium.

In conclusion, these countries are important for studying the EU for many reasons. Latvia is essential to the course because of their recent transition from the Lat to the Euro. With only one million true native Latvians, a declining birth rate, and “brain-drain” occurring, it is believed that the strength of Russia will continue to grow leading to detrimental issues in their future. Lithuania, which at one point experienced a severe bank crisis, is still recovering from the economic setbacks, making it difficult to remain a stable and reliable country. If this small country becomes part of the Eurozone, they will be less dependent on Russia for resources and identity influences.

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The tour ended at a local community center where we met youth leaders and a college student working at the center who was close friends with an Elon student.  We followed this with a hearty lunch!

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Students meet with an attorney in Riga who studied in the states and now practices in his home city.

This is a monument dedicated to those who tried to save the Jews of Riga and the rest of Europe who were sent to Riga to be exterminated. The monument was created in the 1980’s during the rebirth of the Riga Jewish movement. This monument is critical to the history of Jews in Riga and has a pretty prominent place in the city’s Jewish quarter.

Class time in Riga.

During one of our days in Riga, we took a visit to the city’s massive indoor an outdoor marketplace. Shoppers can search for all types of food ranging from fish to delicious cheeses. Each type of product is separated into different buildings allowing customers to find exactly what they need with ease. Along with fish, the outdoor area has stalls containing sweaters, small trinkets, cell phone parts, and much more.

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Great evening at the Dinamo hockey match!

We were lucky one day to witness and be a small part of Latvia’s transition from its old library to the new and modern one by passing books by hand through the center of Riga

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The view from the Bikernieki forest which now stands as a memorial to the 50,000 people that were shot and killed during the regime of the Soviet Union.

When we arrived at the gates to the Rumbula Forest, this sculpture stood there to solemnly greet each of us. The Rumbula forest was the place where 25,000 Jews were led through the trees to their immediate death. The sculpture and forest mark as a memorial to all those who were innocently killed in 1941.

On our last day in Riga, we came upon an impromptu outdoor concert by a few of Riga’s own. Funny enough, their chosen song was American but with a Latvian twist.

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Vilnius, Lithuania

As the second largest city of the Baltic States, Vilnius is home to 537,000 Lithuanians and generates approximately 40% of Lithuania’s GDP. Vilnius is inhabited by people of 128 different ethnicities, making it the most ethnically diverse city in Lithuania. During the medieval period, Lithuania was a powerful state and parts of Poland, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine lied within its territories making Lithuania the largest country in Europe by the end of the 14^th century. There is a large Jewish influence within Vilnius and Napoleon named it “the Jerusalem of the North” as he was passing through in 1812. It is known for its Old Town, which is comprised by beautiful architecture and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Before the financial crisis of 2007–2010, the Lithuanian economy was considered to be one of the fastest growing in the European Union. This cosmopolitan city with diverse architecture is also home to most of Lithuania’s education and social infrastructure, attracting over two thirds of Lithuanian creative industries. Vilnius is the major economic center of Lithuania and one of the largest financial centers of the Baltic states, which speaks to their position within the Baltics.

Our Visit to Vilnius:

A view from one of the many cramped jail cells inside the Museum of Genocide Victims which was used as a KGB prison during the 1940s.

Touring the city:

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Riga is the largest city of the Baltic States and home to more than one third of Latvia’s population. It is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial, cultural and financial center of the Baltic Sea region. Similar to Tallinn, it has also been recognized as a historical center by the UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveua and 19^th century wooden architecture. It is the only city in Europe where 5 different religious churches are located and is one of the greenest city center in Europe. The city itself has roughly 700,000 inhabitants and has recently seen a population decrease due to emigration and low birth rates. The population in Riga is only made up of 46% Latvians. Despite the threat of a decreasing population, Riga remains one of the key economic and financial centers of the Baltic States and has one of the largest ports in the Baltics.

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