The EU Parliament - the legislative process - the role of Caritas

Our last day was all about the EU Parliament. In the morning we met with Hannah from the German Caritas Association at the Caritas office. With their headquarters in Brussels, they are very close to EU politics and can always quickly provide the association in Germany with the latest information.

During a rainy walk, she showed us which authorities and tasks are located in which building.

We then had the opportunity to see everything up close during a visit to the EU Parliament. We learned how legislation works between the Commission, Council and Parliament and how complex the cooperation within the EU is in day-to-day work on the ground.

The Bavarian State Representation is located in a handsome little castle right next to the parliament building. Martina, the person responsible there, explained to us why the respective state representations exist in Brussels and how they follow and shape the political movements and decisions there.

Back at the German Caritas office, we talked to our colleagues over a snack about our impressions and were able to get some answers to open questions.

Hannah then gave us a concrete example of what she and her team are working on here in Brussels for the German Caritas and what challenges this entails.

We were also impressed by the lecture given by Torsten Moritz, Secretary General of the CCME (Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe). As a representative of the churches, he advocates many humanitarian aspects and tries to enter into discussions with those in charge of making decisions.

The recently adopted EU Asylum Pact is also a topic of discussion. Many of the decisions made therein give us food for thought, given our daily, practical work with refugees.

On that day, many things that seemed far away became very tangible and close to us. And today we are once again very grateful to have been able to experience this day through Erasmus+.