7.12, Monday morning, Brussels. I arrived at Gare du Midi soon enough to buy some croissants for breakfast. My train leaves in 11 minutes and I am still nervous as I did not buy a seat reservation. I hope the train won’t be too crowded.

7.50, the train has left Brussels. As it turns out, it is crowded, many people are just standing in aisles. Good news comes in Namur, the train empties itself and I fall asleep.

Most of the staff going to Strasbourg use either their cars, Thalys train, or a plane. The regular train is only the last resort. One of the reasons behind this is that the journey is too long and the train is often late. As it was that Monday. By the time we got to Strasbourg our delay was more than an hour.

Strasbourg train station is an impressive historical building in a modern wrapping. Literally. However, this time I had no time to enjoy its charm: I jumped out of the car and ran for the nearest exit.

Expect the unexpected

Strasbourg looking good on a December evening

The great and terrible thing about the Strasbourg plenary is that there are certain moments when you don’t expect anything and suddenly, it happens. When I was leaving the station, I was warmly surprised by (I called them) “ushers” from the Parliament who helped us, brusselish eurocrats, to find our way to navettes – shuttle buses running regularly between the station and the Parliament buildings during the plenary session.

When the bus set out for the European Parliament, I felt relieved. I would be there in a few minutes, still not too late, I said to myself. I mean, what could now possibly happen, right? I really could not expect some crazy fellow to park his Peugeot in the middle of a narrow street and block the traffic for half an hour, could I? After 25 minutes I decided to leave the navette and take the nearby tram instead. Obviously, as soon as I got out of the bus, the lunatic returned to his car and I could only wave my colleagues who were wise enough to stay on board. Murphy Laws just work all the time for me.

After work…

Although this was not my first time in Strasbourg, I always get a specific uplifting feeling with a bit of awe when I approach the EP Louise Weiss building. I remember one conversation with my friend back in 1999 when we desired so much to reunite with the rest of the Europe. At that time we both were dreaming about the blue stripe with twelve yellow stars on Slovak cars’ licence plates, our own star on the EU flag, as one Slovak Christian-democrat politician once put it, and our voice to be heard in the very same Parliament I was just now standing afore. What a journey we have made together with the rest of CEE countries in recent years…

Anyway, it’s too late, I need to go and the feeling soon fades away in the corridors of the European Labyrinth.

Speaking about labyrinths, I really have no clue, who were the architects of the EP buildings in Strasbourg (the Parliament was built in several stages according to its actual needs), but I am 100% sure that the main rationale behind the project must have been that people should have had the chance to get lost as quickly as possible. I found myself lost twice during my first day but, eventually, I was able to find the Webcom office alone and this I am particularly proud of.

When you are in Strasbourg, everything is different: different city, different atmosphere of the place, even your relationship with colleagues gets warmer. And, you get a different office. First of all, it is an open space. Whatever you may think about them, they are particularly useful in interacting with other people, sharing information, finding solutions, or just having fun together (yes, even eurocracts can have fun, but obviously, only after the working hours).

…there is a chance to relax together…

When in Strasbourg, you are alone on an island without your loved-ones and your friends, staying just with your colleagues and this brings you all closer together. I have always dreamed about a job where after work I could have a conversation about political and other topics with my friends and colleagues over a glass of a decent vintage. This has actually come true with the Webcom tradition of the afterwork-swanbar-drink, when we all met together and enjoyed deserved relax after an intense day.

Wonderful teambuilding event was also a common dinner at one of Strasbourg restaurants offering delicious specialities of the French cuisine. This really offers you a chance to talk to your colleagues, to get to know them better and let them learn something about yourself. It really is different in Brussels where everyone rushes home just after the work. Strasbourg really boosts the spirit of the team and paves a way for new friendships to be formed.

…and eventually get some sleep

Don’t do the same mistakes as I did. If you are supposed to go to Strasbourg during the plenary week, make sure you book your hotel at least a fortnight (ideally a month) before. In my lazy-naive-lunatic case I did it one week in advance and I wondered how could anyone expect me to pay €1080 for three nights. Obviously, you would not find a single bed available in the city (or at least by using booking engines), especially when we are talking about the December plenary (Sakharov prize, Budget, many Christmas-related events).

Nevertheless, I got lucky and booked a wonderful room in a hotel in German Offenburg, just 30 minutes-by-train away from Strasbourg. The place was just very friendly and the town (or the parts I was able to see) was just awesome. Anyway, it was just nice: guy from Slovakia working in Belgium sent to France who stayed in Germany, the spirit of united Europe was there.

au revoir

The time to leave is usually Thursday afternoon. You come to the office with your baggage and just after the noon you run for the train station to catch the train. As I was using the normal one, which was obviously late, there was no need to run. By the time we approached Brussels, the delay tripled itself and I was really relieved when I got back to my place.

And it was a good one: rules for the Citizens’ Initiative were born, the Sakharov Prize was (although only formally) awarded and the Budget was finally approved. As the doors to the hemicycle were closed, I was already getting a Christmas mood. Time to unpack from Strasbourg and pack for home. Au revoir European Parliament, I am flying home for Christmas …

Sometimes the vote does not take place next day but is postponed to the next session. Waiting for the final result can thus be unbelievable two or three weeks. If you want to publish an article after taking vote, you might end up with quotes of MEPs from the previous month. Not mentioning that the discussed issue could have easily changed in a substantial way in the meantime.

Follow the committee while taking coffee

On the other hand, sometimes Parliament shows how to do things in order to make it easier for the media. For example by organising debates before big summits such as G20 meetings. By discussing the issue in advance, Parliament gives a clear idea on its expectations. A sort of rather action than reaction approach. This can be even strengthened when a resolution is adopted (which was unfortunately not the case ahead of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh).

I also like the enlarged live streaming of parliamentary committees. In the past, if a committee was discussing a big piece of legislation or a very attractive topic, the meeting room got stuck very quickly by MEPs, assistants, lobbies or journalists. This is not a problem in case you do not need a chair and table and can take notes while standing.

However, you could have some troubles if you speak only three or four languages. MEPs like to express their ideas in their mother tongues so a meeting can be very multilingual. Live coverage through internet in most used languages makes life easier. You can stay in front of your computer, sit on your favourite chair, sip your favourite coffee, take notes or even record the meeting on dictaphone.

The new EP President Jerzy Buzek has already announced plans to modify some ways the Parliament works. Let´s wait and see.

In our collective mind’s eye, we all see something similar: slick, designer, multimedia aggregation pages updated with new material as it becomes available.

We are convinced that the idea is good, but of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and translating an idea into reality is always going to be an issue when your website is as huge and complicated as ours, and in 22 languages to boot. In our collective mind’s eye, we all see something similar: slick, designer, multimedia aggregation pages updated with new material as it becomes available. Want the latest on the immigration debate: concise, clear background, up to date coverage of debates and votes, helpful illustrations and arresting photos, video interviews, links to all relevant documentation and resources, a profile of the rapporteur perhaps? One click and it’s all there! Yay!

That is, until the man with the spanner very reasonably points out that this is all very well, but there is a small matter of developing all the underlying technologies, building a robust content management system, idiot-proofing the whole thing (that’s us…), and all this – lest we forget (which we, in spite of ourselves, inspired by our perigrinations on the web, always do) – IN TWENTY-TWO LANGUAGES! 

Hmmm you’re right, of course…

We take our good old familiar  front page in both hands, and start bending, folding, squeezing, pummelling it to extract the last drops of potential still lurking there

But still, time waits for no man, so let’s see what we can do with what we have. ‘Twas ever thus, fortune favours those who get on with it. So we’re operating a brand new state-of-the-art workaround system this week, using the tools and the technology we already have, while the man with the spanner disappears into the basement to build us the machine of our dreams. The sounds of clanging and rivetting (with just a spot of totally justified muttering about bloody clients who want everything done, like, yesterday) drift up the stairs. Meanwhile, we take our good old familiar  front page in both hands, and start bending, folding, squeezing, pummelling it to extract the last drops of potential still lurking there.  

The new tube of toothpaste is coming soon.

Now, dear reader, read on.