On Thursday we had the opportunity to visit the European Union Parliament in Brussels. I wasn’t originally too thrilled about this particular excursion, but by the end of the day it was incredibly memorable and a truly fun event. We were first introduced to three different members whom we were able to ask questions of and get to know a little bit better. Two of the representatives were from Germany and one was from Italy, so each one had a very unique and different perspective on various EU issues. One even said that they only reason he joined Parliament was because he hated the concept of the Euro so much! I was surprised to learn that the European Parliament was modeled similar to the way the U.S. Congress is modeled. They both have two separate governing bodies to act as a checks and balances system and who work together to pass laws and regulate European issues such as currency and immigration. The European Union Parliament varies a slightly from the U.S. Congress in that those that are voted in are in office for five years, whereas senators are in office for six.
In chapter eight of our Experiencing Intercultural Communication textbook written by Judith N. Martin and Thomas K. Nakayama discusses political conflicts. The text uses an example of a disagreement between environmentalist and developers, which is something similar to what we debated during the Parliamentarium role-playing game. This issue we debated was on regulation of water resources because while it is a vital resource, some environmentalist believes it needs is own agency and an enormous budget, while other parties within the European Union feel that it should have a much smaller budget and no agency. One of the most recent conflicts in the EU has been with Greece. According to the article, cited below, the Greece crisis is being considered one of the biggest conflicts since the EU was founded in 1993. There is much conflict on whether the EU should bail out Greece or simply kick them out of the European Union altogether. This issue has caused a significant amount of conflict among nations as each one comes from a different perspective. The German MEP that visited us stated that if they were to bail out Greece, most of that responsibility would fall onto Germany, being one of the biggest and most profitable markets, and that could devastate their economy. Ultimately though, the EU decided to bail out Greece and keep them in the Eurozone.
Four primary cultural dimensions in the EU Parliament:
Patterns of thought: One pattern of thought within the EU was brought up by one of the German representative. He stated how much he strongly disliked the Euro because what works for one country, most certainly does not work for the next. It seemed that many of the representatives felt this way about a variety of issues from immigration to education. Government, especially in Europe, is not one size fits all, or even one size fits most because every single country varies in their thoughts, standards, and expectations of their government.
Patterns of behavior: One pattern of behavior I noticed during the Q&A session was the pattern of immigrants coming from all over, mostly Africa, to Europe. The representatives agreed that immigration is a growing problem within the EU and that they are constantly working to get it under control without separating families and without damaging their economies by having unemployed immigrant on welfare.
Patterns of artifacts: After our session with the Parliament representatives, we were able to explore the museum held within the Parliament building. It was full of a variety of interactive exhibits and displays to show the history of Europe and establishment of the European Union. There were many photographs from World War II that helped demonstrate the progress Europe has made.
Imprints in nature: The European Union and Parliament have made a huge impact on Europe. It has completely changed the dynamic of European countries and how they interact with each other. Not only is the EU building itself beautiful and a representation of pride and unity, but also the EU has built up an organization that was able to unify Europe after a devastating war that shook the globe.
Textbook: Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Experiencing Intercultural Communication: An Introduction. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.
Source: Mahony, Honor. "The EU Parliament's Big, Fat Greek Moment." The EU Parliament's Big, Fat Greek Moment. N.p., 10 July 2015. Web. 17 July 2015.
In chapter eight of our Experiencing Intercultural Communication textbook written by Judith N. Martin and Thomas K. Nakayama discusses political conflicts. The text uses an example of a disagreement between environmentalist and developers, which is something similar to what we debated during the Parliamentarium role-playing game. This issue we debated was on regulation of water resources because while it is a vital resource, some environmentalist believes it needs is own agency and an enormous budget, while other parties within the European Union feel that it should have a much smaller budget and no agency. One of the most recent conflicts in the EU has been with Greece. According to the article, cited below, the Greece crisis is being considered one of the biggest conflicts since the EU was founded in 1993. There is much conflict on whether the EU should bail out Greece or simply kick them out of the European Union altogether. This issue has caused a significant amount of conflict among nations as each one comes from a different perspective. The German MEP that visited us stated that if they were to bail out Greece, most of that responsibility would fall onto Germany, being one of the biggest and most profitable markets, and that could devastate their economy. Ultimately though, the EU decided to bail out Greece and keep them in the Eurozone.
Four primary cultural dimensions in the EU Parliament:
Patterns of thought: One pattern of thought within the EU was brought up by one of the German representative. He stated how much he strongly disliked the Euro because what works for one country, most certainly does not work for the next. It seemed that many of the representatives felt this way about a variety of issues from immigration to education. Government, especially in Europe, is not one size fits all, or even one size fits most because every single country varies in their thoughts, standards, and expectations of their government.
Patterns of behavior: One pattern of behavior I noticed during the Q&A session was the pattern of immigrants coming from all over, mostly Africa, to Europe. The representatives agreed that immigration is a growing problem within the EU and that they are constantly working to get it under control without separating families and without damaging their economies by having unemployed immigrant on welfare.
Patterns of artifacts: After our session with the Parliament representatives, we were able to explore the museum held within the Parliament building. It was full of a variety of interactive exhibits and displays to show the history of Europe and establishment of the European Union. There were many photographs from World War II that helped demonstrate the progress Europe has made.
Imprints in nature: The European Union and Parliament have made a huge impact on Europe. It has completely changed the dynamic of European countries and how they interact with each other. Not only is the EU building itself beautiful and a representation of pride and unity, but also the EU has built up an organization that was able to unify Europe after a devastating war that shook the globe.
Textbook: Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Experiencing Intercultural Communication: An Introduction. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.
Source: Mahony, Honor. "The EU Parliament's Big, Fat Greek Moment." The EU Parliament's Big, Fat Greek Moment. N.p., 10 July 2015. Web. 17 July 2015.