Elections for the European Parliament will be held in June this year. The Parliamentarium in Brussels is a huge exhibition space to explain the democracy of the EU. Its main message is – Use Your Vote. The exhibition halls were packed with mainly youth groups speaking various EU languages.
You need to book in advance and show the ticket on your phone at the entrance before airport-style bag checks. On the other side, you collect an audio gadget in the language of choice. This will provide the audio explanation on most stands or unlock specific mobile graphic displays.
What does Europe do for me?
There were two motivational posters in this foyer. One pointed out that the EU provides a driving licence to drive all over Europe. This must be of interest to the many 18-year-olds surging through the gates. The other one listed (in English) some of the qualities or actions that the Union aspires to, in signpost format.
Up on a half landing was an exhibition that featured illuminated models of the main EU buildings, the Parliament in Strasbourg and the administrative buildings of the EU Commission that were around us in that district of Brussels. The Secretariat for the Parliament is based in Luxembourg. These arrangements were agreed upon by the treaty in 1999. Although it might seem cumbersome to straddle different locations, these arrangements have grown up over 50 years of history. It began with the first efforts at linking formerly belligerent European countries in the Council of Europe, located in Strasbourg in 1949, and the Coal and Steel co-operation, located in Luxembourg. Over 32,000 people are directly employed by the EU, so the economic boost (and planning) involved in hosting an EU central institution is considerable. Top architects have designed the purpose-built edifices, such as the Parliament with its distinctive semi-circle.
Seventy-five years of history
The main exhibition hall of the Parliamentarium covers 75 years of history, from the aftermath of the second world war until now. In the middle are transparent screens with the silhouette of the various countries of Europe that have joined by treaty. They are spaced out according to the chronology. On the floor by each screen is a text that explains, in one language or another, the unifying event. First was the Schuman proposal of May 1950 to place the coal and steel industries of France and Germany under one administration. The aim was to prevent any more conflict between these two large nations stemming from economic tussles.
A great idea of unification
Along the side walls of this hall are booths containing black and white photos that encapsulate what was going on in the world at the time. You can connect the visitor’s gadget to the information button to get an explanation in either audio or text in the language of choice.
The earliest photo, from the first world war, is of the Belgian city of Ypres destroyed by artillery fire in battles that killed some million soldiers. It is an appropriate reminder to many local visitors of the dire damage caused by war. The photos of the 1940s show chilling scenes from the war. There is a British photo of a class being taught to put on gas masks, a German photo of measuring an old man’s nose to check his race, and a Polish photo of Jews coming from the Warsaw ghetto. By the time a visitor comes to the first treaties, they are persuaded that treaty-making is better than war for Europe’s future. On the walls in large letters are quotations (mostly French) from the founders of this great idea of unification, as they tried to push the project forward from utopian hope to realisation.
What about the Cold War?
The photos on this wall cover news in decades that I can remember. My criticism of the choice is that the Cold War is not adequately reflected. Where are the air drops over Berlin in 1949 to break the Russian blockade of that divided city? Where are the pictures of the Hungarian uprising in 1956? Where are the pictures of the wall that divided Germany? Where are the pictures of historic cold war meetings such as the first visit of Krushchev to the USA? Where are the pictures of solidarity in Poland? The fall of the Berlin Wall? The historic visit of Mikhail Gorbachev to the Council of Europe in 1989, or the Reykjavik summit?
But even as I speculated about the apparent masking of the cold war, I realised that the criteria for these photos were probably only what the EU countries had chosen to put forward as representing that epoch from their annals. Most cold war moments of significance were probably recorded on US cameras. Or was there some bias against Russian-related photos? I noted with sadness the quotation from Hendrik Brugmans of 27 August 1947 when stating the basic principles of European federalism: “More than ever, we denounce all tendencies to divide the world between super-powers” (translated).
British contributions
There were two final British contributions on this wall. First was a post-Brexit referendum photo of a demonstrator holding a banner of a yellow star gashed in red, “You broke my star”. And finally, a picture of the cortège of the late Queen, whose reign had covered all of this EU history.
The next hall had an illuminated green floor. Visitors could push trolleys over it and stop at viewing points. Around the top of the walls, this activated a rolling line of information in different languages – for example, in German, of the percentage of people who deal with their waste properly. Along the far wall was a line of globes with information about various ways in which the European Union interacts with other countries across the world, for example, with election monitoring.
The next hall was about the different political groupings in the EU Parliament, with a semicircular model with coloured pegs. Along the wall were gadgets where one could read (or hear) views from a representative of each grouping on a variety of current topics: climate change, the economy and migration.
Teenage comments
The final activity was an opportunity to type in a sentence of feedback in your own language (none in English), which then appeared in a rolling sequence on the large screen behind. Many of these (translated) were typical of teenagers:
“I love Odette”
“To eat sweets in all European states”
”free make-up, food, shopping and hygiene products”
“free make-up and vapes from 16”
Or football slogans:
“Forza Roma forza lupi”
Some expressed succinct political opinions:
“free Palastine”
“No foreigners”
“I want a greener Europe”
“Don’t let Ukraine into NATO”
At first, I felt irritated by the teenage jokers playing the fool with politics. But my second thought was that at least they were getting a chance to give voice to their feelings. There is a concern among EU pollsters that these new teenage voters are likely to vote at the extremes, either far left or far right.
British voter apathy
No one would go out of the Parliamentarium unaware that all European citizens should use their vote this June. I felt sad that the UK never participated strongly in elections for the EU Parliament. Even in the very first one, in 1979, the voter turn-out in the UK (for 81 seats) was only 32.4%. In Italy, there was an 85.5% turn-out for 81 seats. The nations of Europe involved in that first election for the EU Parliament had spent 30 years developing shared institutions.
Not ruled by bureaucrats
The British right-wing press has never really understood how democracy works in the EU. It is true that the EU Parliament does not initiate laws in the same way that a British Parliament does, but this does not mean it is ruled by ‘bureaucrats’.
The ideas for new regulations usually come from the various specialist committees that meet in the buildings in the EU quarter of Brussels. These are not just for politicians and full-time EU staff. They pull in experts, scientists and representatives from the relevant industries. They make an impact statement on the proposed policy, which is then considered by the three institutions: the EU Parliament (directly elected by EU citizens); the Council of the European Union (not to be confused with the Council of Europe), representing EU national governments; and the European Commission, representing EU interests overall (via the heads or commissioners of the various specific political topics). If these three bodies agree, the regulations go ahead via the Parliament. If they do not, further work has to be done, adjusting the regulations, until they do.
The UK spent 40 years helping to develop these institutions. However, it never sufficiently educated its voters so that they became less apathetic about European elections. I admire the efforts the EU is now making to educate its voters, even the joking teenagers who file through the Parliamentarium.
