Week Four
This week at EWEA we launched the Global Wind Day video on the website and social media. It has had a great response from followers so far, hopefully you like it too.
EWEA also hosted a debate this week entitled “Funding Green Growth in Times of Austerity– Energy and the EU Budget.” Members of the EU Parliament, NGOS and other organizations spoke.
Wind energy in Europe is a hot topic but there is fear that its development will be stunted due to the Euro crisis. It is definitely an interesting time to study here and be part of an organization which is essentially lobbying the government. I have learned more about politics in the EU than any class could have taught me.
Not only the EU, but Brussels as a whole is such a unique city. It is the definition of the “salad bowl” analogy. Everyone seems to have their own national identity and agenda. This was extremely evident during the debate. The speakers kept referring to their specific countries which they were from and how they did things there, implying that it was the best option, instead of speaking of the EU in its entirety.
This was interesting because if a similar debate were to be held in the states you may have a little bit of this but it would be more general geographical differences. The north, south, east and west would have differing opinions but not necessarily state to state. The dichotomy is intriguing to experience.
Over the weekend we stayed in Brussels and traveled to Ghent and Bruges.