After a whirlwind day of criss-crossing the city, meeting loads of high-ranking officials, and consuming a lot more delicious food, I have to get down all my thoughts, even if the result is projectile logorrhea (we Canadians, we have weak stomachs). Disclaimer: I’m too spent to fact-check my facts, so please don’t hold me to these details.
Whoever said the EU was a peace-keeping organization was wrong: The three of us, shepherded by Jakob Bork, a freelance journalist from Denmark, were assaulted with more information about global affairs. But (and though I can’t speak for Anca or Kerri), I feel measurably more worldy because of it, and for that I am measurably grateful (but I haven’t figured out how much more so–Canada’s metric system doesn’t have a unit for thanks, nor worldliness).
Jakob met us at our hotel this morning, and under a cover of drizzle, we cabbed out to NATO to meet with James Appathurai, the Public Diplomacy spokesman–”numero uno” mouthpiece for the world’s most powerful military alliance, and a Canadian! The sun broke through the clouds as we pulled up to the heavily guarded compound. Barbed wire surrounded the place, and James told us about attack dogs, but I didn’t expect the West’s seat of military power to lie under the direct flight-path of the main airport in Brussels. To our surprise, our journalistic equipment was not taken away at security, as we had been warned. (Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned that? Oh well.) Luckily, this meant I could have a photo with James, who I’ve adored ever since I saw him on The Hour with George Stromobolop–oh, screw it, it’s too late in the day.
From James’ privileged vantage point, he laid out all of the challenges NATO faces for us, from Afghanistan to Russia, and the admittedly delicate ways they have to be handled. He’s probably got the world’s touchiest job, and he seems to handle it with agility and sincerity–rare for a PR flack! Before joining the foreign service, he spent a year at our public broadcaster, the CBC (doing the sports highlights!), and so he can appreciate how journalists operate. He even graciously allowed me profile him for Maisonneuve, the magazine I work for back home in Montreal.
After our hour-long conversation (in which we were told some really juicy, top secret information, which we pinkie-swore never to reveal–nyaah, nyaah), we met up with Megan Weekes for lunch at the NATO cafeteria. Megan is a political and public policy officer with the Canadian delegation to NATO. She briefed us on her packed portfolio that covers everything from science to military operations. She explained how things get done around there (NATO is pretty flat, not only in hierarchical structure but also architecture). And the The food was pretty good too, for transatlantic cuisine!
After lunch, we zipped back to Residence Palace, where most of the media outlets at the EU have their offices. There we met with the Director of Research of the European Policy Centre, a think-tank. In speedy Italian-accented English, he explained European Neighbourhood Policy–the EU’s stance on foreign affairs. He laid out more delicate political issues, like the Middle East process–in particular, the EU’s influence on it (or lack thereof), and Iran’s growing nuclear capabilities. While the EU seems like a safe and protected place, I left that session feeling like the world is a chessboard rigged to a timebomb. Checkmate?
The rest of the afternoon was rather relaxed in comparison: two walking tours and a private session with a “macro-economist” on the financial crisis. Since my head is swimming with treaties and alliances, I think I’ll leave you at that for now. Later I’ll tell you about the “EU bubble,” Matongué, Brussels’ Congolese community, and the delectable drink of safsangria.
Bon soir!
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I’m so happy you got that photo… and Safsangria…? A drink I’ve never heard of? Get OUT!