I went to a Fulbright conference in Belgium about a week ago. It was a week long conference for Fulbrighters from throughout Europe to learn about the European Union and NATO. The European Union currently includes 27 countries, 16 of which use the euro. Countries must meet certain criteria in order to join including having a stable decmocracy which respects human rights and a functioning market economy. I like this idea that the European Union attempts to improve the quality of all its member countries, providing a more stable economy and ensuring human rights. But communications can often be difficult due to the sheer number of languages spoken. We were able to see a court session at the European Court of Justice where the lawyers and judges were speaking different languages and interpreters were translating the dialog on the spot into a number of different languages for those listening. The amount of translation that takes place is impressive. In some ways it makes sense to have common regulations, currency, etc. It makes commerce between countries and traveling between countries much easier. But at the same time you are dealing with many different cultures which can differ in their values and goals.
We also visited NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) headquarters in Brussels. This is a collective defense organization which includes the United States and many European countries. At the moment NATO is in charge of the International Security Assistannce Force in Afghanistan, which is their main focus. I think the information they gave us was very one-sided. I personally believe we never should have stationed troops in Afghanistan and I hope we can effectively remove our troops in a way that can cause the least damage to the country.
For most of the conference we stayed in Brussels, but we also visited Luxembourg and Brugge. Brugge is a very pretty city (and, naturally, the location of the movie In Brugge, which set a few violent scenes in what is otherwise a very peaceful town). Brussels is pretty as well, with a very impressive Grand Place in the middle. Most of the sights can be seen in a day, but we spent our nights enjoying the local specialties - chocolate and beer! I ate very well, tried many types of beer (the raspberry mont subit was my favorite!) and met some cool people.
It was nice to learn a little more about some of the politics and policies in Europe. My general impression is that the political approach is more socialistic than the capitalistic approach in the US. There is much more focus on the environment, although I think that is becoming more important in the US. There is a focus on collaboration between cultures and avoidance of conflict. These are stances that I agree with as well. The system, of course, is not perfect, but I think it sets a good model for directions the US could take.
