{"id":19006,"date":"2025-11-14T14:36:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T13:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?p=19006"},"modified":"2025-11-14T14:36:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T13:36:19","slug":"where-brussels-really-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/19006\/where-brussels-really-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Brussels Really Talks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>A few steps away from the glass buildings of the European Parliament, conversations happen that rarely make it into official records. They unfold in caf\u00e9s and bars, over coffee or beer, in places that feel far removed from the political chaos surrounding them. Yet for many journalists, trainees, staffers and lobbyists in the EU Quarter, these caf\u00e9s and bars are essential for getting inside the \u201cBrussels Bubble\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n[aesop_gallery  id=&#8221;19050&#8243; revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221; overlay_revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221;]\n<\/div>\n<div>At a small Greek family caf\u00e9 near the Parliament, the routines are almost predictable. \u201cMany people in suits come here,\u201d the owner tells me with a smile. \u201cBut not every day, it depends. Sometimes they are in Strasbourg.\u201d Politicians themselves rarely pass through, she says. It is usually their teams, assistants and staffers grabbing a quick bite or meeting someone between two votes. The caf\u00e9 is run by a mother and her children, a quiet reminder that behind the bureaucratic fa\u00e7ade, Brussels is filled with immigrant families who have built their lives next to Europe\u2019s political heart.<\/div>\n<div>\n[aesop_gallery  id=&#8221;19052&#8243; revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221; overlay_revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221;]\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Compared to the family-run caf\u00e9, the Mickey Mouse Caf\u00e9 inside the European Parliament feels far more serious, full of people in suits actively engaging in conversations. I find it striking that the only caf\u00e9 in one of Europe\u2019s most serious institutions is named after a Disney character. The chairs resemble Mickey\u2019s ears and there is a large painting of Mickey Mouse right outside. Another explanation comes from Margaret Thatcher, who once called the European Parliament a \u201cMickey Mouse Parliament\u201d.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n[aesop_gallery  id=&#8221;19058&#8243; revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221; overlay_revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221;]\n<\/div>\n<div>It is here that I meet Ioannis Angelos Karanasios, a trainee working for a Member of the European Parliament. For him, meeting in caf\u00e9s is simply part of how politics works. \u201cPolitics is all about interaction,\u201d he says. \u201cYou cannot act in a vacuum. If you don\u2019t get advice, opinions or challenges from others, then you\u2019re not in touch with the people you represent.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n[aesop_gallery  id=&#8221;19054&#8243; revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221; overlay_revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221;]\n<\/div>\n<div>Coming from Georgia, where informal meetings between politicians and journalists often raise suspicion, I ask whether this caf\u00e9 culture ever crosses ethical boundaries. He shakes his head. \u201cCorruption starts at a different level,\u201d he says. \u201cA coffee isn\u2019t corruption. What matters is the framework, transparency, impartiality, financial interests. A conversation itself is neutral. What you do with it isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/div>\n<div>\n[aesop_gallery  id=&#8221;19062&#8243; revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221; overlay_revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221;]\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>A Brussels-based journalist I speak to describes the caf\u00e9 scene even more straightforwardly. \u201cI think it is very common and normal to meet in caf\u00e9s around Schuman for a big share of actors in the EU bubble. At least it has become very usual for journalists.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>For her, the reasons are both practical and political. \u201cThe meetings happening in caf\u00e9s are mostly between people who are not working for the same institution or organisation at all. It can therefore be very practical to meet in a neutral place.\u201d Many encounters are intentionally informal, meant for \u201ccollecting so called \u2018background off the record\u2019 information,\u201d whether journalists seeking insight or stakeholders trying to understand each other\u2019s dynamics. \u201cIn any of those cases, you want to create an atmosphere that is more comfortable than an office could be,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd all the interaction around makes that the talks will always be less formal and framed.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n[aesop_gallery  id=&#8221;19066&#8243; revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221; overlay_revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221;]\n<\/div>\n<div>Does the setting influence how people interact? \u201cIt surely does but this is the main point. Trying to create the atmosphere that will give you access to deeper information.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>As for ethical concerns, she hasn\u2019t encountered many. \u201cThe question could arise about who pays for the drinks. But it has been very natural in all the cases I take part to.\u201d<\/div>\n<div>\n[aesop_gallery  id=&#8221;19071&#8243; revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221; overlay_revealfx=&#8221;off&#8221;]\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>In a bubble that can feel closed to anyone on the outside, the caf\u00e9s of Brussels quietly become the places where you finally get let in. At least that\u2019s how I felt.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few steps away from the glass buildings of the European Parliament, conversations happen that rarely make it into official records. They unfold in caf\u00e9s and bars, over coffee or beer, in places that feel far removed from the political chaos surrounding them. 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