Visit to the European Parliament

The students of the English speaking subject and three teachers, two from the English department and a third one from the Spanish department arrived in Brussels airport at 16:00 o’clock and all of them  headed to their hotel. t was their first contact with this city and a very educational and interesting visit was about to start. 

As it was Christmas time, all of them enjoyed the joyful and colourful atmosphere which surrounds this city. First they visited the Grand Place with its sound and light show. After it, they tasted the typical goffress and another type of traditional Belgium food in the different markets around the Grand Place. 

All the students and teachers started the day visiting the important buildings of Brussels. We started the visit to Brussels with the Palace of Justice of Brussels. The students could see the different courts and tribunals and also a jury which took place.   

Then all the teachers and students did a nice walk through all the different shops of Belgium chocolate to stop in St Michele and St Gudula. We took a picture on one of the numerous murals that can be enjoyed in Brussels.

Then we enjoyed The Grand Place during the day, The most important and beautiful square in Europe. We walked around it , took some pictures and saw all the architecture of these buildings in detail.

We also took some pictures in The Mannen Pis. It was celebrated the day of  the firemen so the Manne Pis was dressed as a firefighter  and after this must in Brussels , we took the underground to visit The Atomium 

We finished the day in the Brussels cathedral and St Hubert Galleries. In these galleries we also bought some chocolates and saw the Christmas atmosphere around Brussels. Some students also visited more Christmas markets. 

This day was planned by the students in the speaking class. The first day was a contact with the Belgium culture and the different monuments of Brussels. They also tasted the typical Belgium food and they finally enjoyed of the Christmas lights  markets of this city.

This was the day to understand the working of the European Parliament. We started visiting the Parlamentarium. They were guided through multimedia screens to the heart of the European Parliament. 

They explained to them the path towards  European integration, how the European Parliament works and what its Members are doing to meet the challenges of today.  They approached them a bit to being European citizenship.

They also learnt about the last events which happened in Europe and in the world which meant a change towards democracy.  They were aware of the importance of looking at the past for not making the same errors in the future.

Then, we were received by Pernando Barrena, an eurodiputy of the European Parliament . He made students aware of the importance of talking to another members from another political parties in order to defend the Basque interests.  

 He also pointed out the strength that the extreme was having which made difficult to carry out their proposals. He highlighted the issue of environment .He also said that the European participation was very low because citizens see Europe very far away 

He explained to us the European Parliament's working and the importance  of the Commision led by Ursula Von der Leyer so that a bill could be debated in the European Parliament. Our students prepared some questions and he answered all of them.  

We finished the day with a visit to the City Hall , a Gothic building of the 15th century, full of sculptures and pieces of art. They learnt about the history of this building through audio guides in English . It was the last visit of the students  in Brussels.

The visit to the European Parliament was a fruitful  unique, exceptional and educational  experience and learning. This visit will contribute to a greater awareness and understanding of the importance of the European Parliament in the lives of all  our students as active citizens of the European Union.