Getting to know more about it

Discovering the history and the objectives of integration, learning more about the institutions of the European Union, addressing the political, social and cultural challenges that yesterday like today have marked the Old Continent and that continue eliciting joint answers by the States that undertook the path of EU adhesion are just some of the opportunities offered by Parlamentarium, the visitors’ centre of the EU Parliament in Brussels, that opened its doors to the public, after the official inauguration on October 14. A modern, state-of-the-art gallery. Parlamentarium is a grandiose, state-of-the-art Centre with dynamic, sophisticated multimedia and digital tools, enhancing written and verbal communication (which caters to all 23 EU languages), photography and audiovisisual language. Interactive media tools include educational activities and role-play games for students, with special facilities for visually impaired visitors and for visitors with hearing difficulties. “Dynamic, interactive multimedia displays guide our visitors through the journey of European integration – states the webiste www.europarl.europa.eu, with further information on the centre – where they will be able to see how decisions are taken in the Parliament”. “”The European Parliament Visitors’ Centre offers an amazing journey into the heart of Europe, to the core of the only directly elected EU institution where decisions influencing the lives of millions are taken”, said Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament.Halls, tunnels and… interactivity. The Centre is the largest in Europe, (costs amount to about €21 million – with some 450,000 people expected each year), serving as a focal point for school visits, students, children, European visitors and non-EU tourists. Galleries and large halls showcase the history of European integration, EU institutions and decision-making bodies, current challenges and future objectives. The history of Europe is the focus of the visit: “The exhibition shows that Europe has come a long way – surviving two World Wars, reuniting the divided continent and now sharing a joint political project which, I am convinced, will thrive and prevail over the challenges we face today”, said Buzek. It is open to all citizens seven days a week without an entrance pass, while the multimedia guides allow visitors to travel to a country or region of interest (identifying the EU seats located in Member State countries) and access interactive media points.Learning more about community institutions. Unity and diversity are the leading themes of the visit. The Centre displays Member States’ specific historical, geographic, economic and political features and what they share, delving into the historical foundations that have led to the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community, to the European Economic Community and into the current European Union. Visitors can sit at the centre of a huge 360-degree digital surround screen, which projects the Plenary Chamber, and they can also take a virtual tour across Member States by listening to personal stories from people living in different EU countries. Visitors can access a video wall with messages from each of Parliament’s 736 elected Members, while an interactive voting application, allows visitors to cast votes on the topics being discussed and to compare their decisions with those of fellow visitors. The pillars of integration. As regards the contents, apart from minor flaws, it is possible to discover the historical roots of the European building, along with the “history of political ideas” leading to integration and the contribution given by countless personalities, starting with the “Fathers of Europe”, notably French statesman Robert Schuman Konrad Adenauer (Germany) the Italian statesmen Alcide De Gasperi and Altiero Spinelli, Paul-Henri Spaak, from Belgium, to include statesmen of the 1970s and 1980s along with the protagonists of the Fall of the Wall of Berlin and of the democratization of East-European Countries, the last ones to join the “common home”. The process leading to economic and monetary cooperation, territorial development, solidarity of European populations, the joint commitments at global level, namely the major paths of EU policies – without neglecting delays and limits – are also displayed in the Parlamentarium’s exhibitions.