Today I was able to tour the European Parliament. A friend of mine works there and offered to give me a tour before I left, so I just couldn't pass the opportunity up!
My friend met me there and he filled out some paperwork so that I could get into the building. It was quite the process just to get past security. They checked my passport, took a picture of me, and I went through a metal detector. Once inside I was able to see some of the offices and tour around the massive buildings that are all connected and make up the Parliament.
The coolest part was the huge room where they discuss and pass bills. There are 23 official languages within the parliament. High above all of the seats are little box offices where the translating is done for every language. On the outside the language is written on the window so everyone can see which language is being translated. Languages include Bulgarian, Maltese, German, Swedish, and Romanian.
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The European Parliament has two meeting places: Strasbourg, France and Brussels, Belgium. The complex in Brussels houses committee meetings, political groups, and plenary sessions (conferences where all parties are in attendence). It was incredible to go into such a massive establishment that houses one of the most powerful legislatures in the world .
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