Elli Wiita and Colin Cutler recently joined fellow Fulbrighters from around Europe for the annual EU-NATO seminar in Brussels and Luxembourg.

Over four days, they explored and spoke with representatives of the US Embassy in Luxembourg, the European Court of Justice, the European Commission, and NATO. Representatives included an EU judge at the General Court, embassy public affairs officers, and experts in cybersecurity at NATO. For Colin, who studied in England in the middle of the Brexit debates, it was a helpful insight into the EU’s processes for passing legislation and representing Europeans and how that has played into the rhetoric of Brexit. “On the one hand, ‘the unelected bureaucrats’ don’t actually pass laws—their proposals have to be approved by the Council, which has a representative from every member state. But, on the other hand, it was only in 2009 that the European Parliament, whose members represent constituencies, received legislative power under the Treaty of Lisbon.”

“We also had discussions on the influence that the larger national economies and corporations that have already developed economies of scale can have on member states that are still developing—whether the Green Deal is viable for economies that are half-industrialized, how to cope with the brain drain that comes about with regional disparities in wages, and the influence that comes when local workers are primarily wage workers for foreign corporations.”

“Also, as someone who first came to Romania as a soldier on a NATO exercise, it was interesting to hear about the global networks NATO is forming as the environment of competition and cooperation, both national and technological, evolves.”

For Elli, the most impactful part of the seminar was being able to meet and learn from fellow Fulbrighters located across the EU. “Everyone brought their talents and areas of expertise to the discussion table, asking enriching questions that demonstrated the vast range of knowledge and interests of the seminars’ attendees—from studying the habitat of red and arctic foxes to studying right-wing rhetoric in modern Germany to enforcing clean water regulations throughout the EU. In the span of four days, I developed strong friendships with several Fulbrighters that I look forward to continuing throughout my life.

Additionally, understanding why the EU was established and how it has served as a success story for instilling peace within communities was moving. While I had a general understanding about the background of the formation of the EU, I didn’t fully understand how this has resulted in the longest period of peace within the area since the Pax Romana.

Understanding how the various departments within the EU work together was an enlightening experience and one that I plan on sharing with my Fulbright host country, Romania. Furthermore, I have been thinking about how the EU could serve as a peace building model for other countries as the world works together to bring about more peace and harmony.”

Elli is a Fulbright Researcher based in Ploiesti, and Colin is a Fulbright ETA based in Sibiu.