All-men RIAS fellows in front of the European Building in Brussels, from left: Shawn Flynn, myself, Matt Hilburn, Kevin Beesley, Rainer Hasters, Michael Pope and Jim Rowbottom.
BRUSSELS, Oct. 16, 2014 — When a good friend called me on Thursday night from New York City, and I told her on the phone that our group was scheduled to visit the European Union the next day, she asked: “Why do you have to go to the EU?”
It occurred to me that many Americans view the European Union from the perspective of an outsider. Like myself, the EU in my mind can be a complete enigma or a work in progress.
Well, I have been reading things about the EU, especially before our European trip, but I will be quite honest that I still don’t have a firm grasp on how things work on the inside.
I told my friend that visiting the EU and having access to officials there, who will likely to share with us their insights on current issues in Europe, is an American journalist’s dream. Or, at least, I firmly pondered it is.
All-women RIAS fellows in front of the EU building, from left: Lisa Voyticki, Lisa Marie Ziss, Miranda Dotson, Kate Zickel, Sharon Raifer and Catherine Berger
On Thursday, before 9:00 a.m., we arrived at the main entrance of the European Commission building. All of us were in business attire: men in suits and women in skirt or pant suits with formal tops.
The frontage reminded me of the UN headquarters in New York City. A row of EU flags, showing a circle of 12 yellow stars on an azure background, were flying outside of the building.
Our guide, who was originally from Romania, was with us the entire time — from the security area (two of them) to the meeting room inside. If one of us had to go the restroom, she had to stop and wait until the group was complete.
I felt a bit like I was stepping into an untrodden territory. You know the feeling: Filled with curiosity, there must be a story out there, something new and newsworthy. Who knows, there could be some interesting twists and turns.
The meeting room that we were in, according to our host, was the original room where the EU President and heads of member states used to hold their EU summits, which take place at least twice every six months. The seat of the EU President was literally bigger and taller than others.
As the number of member states increased over the years, our host said that the room had become quite small for the summits. They then moved the venue to a much bigger meeting room in the building.
After our introductory session, almost a crash course in current EU members and how the state commission works, our guide led us to a television network studio. Interestingly, we were told that any foreign journalists can use the studio at any time, as long as the coverage relates to European issues.
Then, we attended a press conference with EU journalists.
We were not allowed to ask questions, but it was quite fascinating to observe the dynamics of a media briefing with news outlets from 28 countries, speaking in different languages and having diverse local issues. However, the medium of instruction was done in French and English.
At a press conference, European Commission
With our guide, we left the EU building for a Greek restaurant nearby. There, we had an exclusive lunch meeting with a press officer for the Council of the European Union. We felt like the food being served on our table seemed never-ending.
With Jim Rowbottom
About 2:00 p.m. we headed back to the EU Commission building for our last two sessions.
We met with the communications officer who works on the EU website, pointing out to us the important news links, if we want to do a story or just keep ourselves abreast of European developments.
For me, what stood out was the officer’s story about Conchita Wurst, a transvestite who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 (http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=aaplw&p=Conchita+Wurst+wins). I wondered if conservative America would be ready for someone like Conchita on a live television show, let alone give her a resounding win.
Our last meeting was with three EU officers who talked about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a trade agreement that is being negotiated between the European Union and the United States.
After our EU meetings, Kate Zickel and I posed in front of our hotel in Brussels
Despite some complicated issues, the officers expressed optimism that, by removing trade barriers in a wide range of economic sectors, it would make it a lot easier to buy and sell goods and services between the EU and the United States.
The wind had picked up. And, faintly, the sun was setting against the buildings.
It was another rush-hour in Brussels. We took one last group-photo outside the EU building, before we walked to the subway station.
18 Days and a Wonder 