Source: Global Times
[Ren Yan, special correspondent of the Global Times in Belgium, reported by Wu Yun, reporter of the Global Times] "Welcome to Brussels, the home of NATO." Recently, on a huge image display board at the airport in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, such a welcome speech was written impressively. On the display board, 2/3 of the picture is of the NATO headquarters building, in addition to the very eye-catching large letter above the building, there is a small line - "Working for the peace, security and freedom of nearly 1 billion people." People who work, live or often visit the EU headquarters in Brussels feel that this display board conveys a different message than in the past - before the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Brussels played a city business card such as "European capital" and "European center". Coincidentally, in Hungary, which has been in the European Union for nearly 20 years, the Prime Minister of the Eastern European country, Orbán, revealed his dissatisfaction with the EU on social media in early August, bluntly saying that "Brussels is not our boss, Hungary is an independent sovereign state." The EU's is not at all in Brussels, but in the capitals of the member states." The EU is a model for regional integration organizations, but why is Brussels now favoring one over the other, only emphasizing that it is the "headquarters of NATO", and some EU member states have begun to avoid talking about Brussels as the "foundation of the EU"?
"NATO wants to occupy the C position in Brussels"
In early July, a Global Times reporter noticed that in the display board at Brussels Airport, the lower left corner of the headquarters building read "We are NATO", followed by a string of social media icons. On the right side of the building are four squashed Brussels landmarks or famous attractions, namely the Arch of Triumph in the (Independence) 50th Anniversary Park, the statue of Jullien the "Manneken Pis", the Town Hall building of the Grand Place in Brussels, and the Atomium Tower. Echoing the NATO logo in the upper left corner of the display board, the Atomium hangs a flag bearing the NATO logo, the town hall is marked with dark blue lights, Yulian wears a dark blue dress with nato logo, and the arc de Triomphe flies a dark blue NATO flag.
The Global Times reporter has worked in Brussels for 8 years, and it is the first time that he has seen such a city image display board at the airport. A local friend in Brussels said: "I don't know if the image of this city is inspired by the City of Brussels or from the HEADQUARTERS of NATO." But I don't think the idea is very good, calling Brussels 'NATO home' is detrimental to its image of peace, marginalizing and painting Brussels landmarks a deep blue that represents the Atlantic Ocean, giving people a chill in their backs. Belgian historian Hendrick Vermerich was even more angry when talking about the display board with reporters, saying: "NATO headquarters was originally located on the edge of Brussels, and it was not a landmark building, but in the billboard showing the new image of Brussels, it actually occupied the C position, became the absolute protagonist, and squeezed the well-known landmark building aside, which is really the end of the horse, too funny." He believes that this is a dangerous signal to the world, which is seriously inconsistent with the fine peace-loving tradition of the People of Brussels. According to his observation, the billboard appeared after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which seemed to embolden Ukrainians and Europeans, indicating that "NATO still exists, and its headquarters is in Brussels." Vermeersch also said: "In fact, this is a sense of existence, nato increasingly feels its own existential crisis." ”
Some public material shows that Brussels covers an area of 162 square kilometers, and the population of the capital region is 1.218 million, of which 85% of the residents speak French, 15% speak Dutch, and foreigners account for about 1/3 of the city's population. Such a "small city" is the headquarters of the European Union and NATO, or the headquarters of the World Customs Organization. In the eyes of outsiders, the EU and NATO are international organizations, but the "Brussels Guide" website created by the Brussels Regional Information Center (BRIC) classifies the EU as a "European institution" and NATO as an "international agency", alongside the World Customs Organization.
Because the EU is headquartered in Brussels, locals prefer to call the city where they live "the capital of Europe." The EU is a regional international organization created for peaceful development, committed to European integration. Most Belgians pride themselves on working at EU headquarters, not only because the salary is coveted, but also because it implies high social status. The reporter has a Belgian friend who works at the EU headquarters, and she said that it was not easy to get this job at the beginning, not only requiring a high degree from a prestigious school, but also a mastery of multiple languages, solid professional knowledge and good communication skills. The vast majority of posts at the EU headquarters are designed for European unity, harmony and development, so such work is meaningful and respected by society.
Now anyone visiting or visiting Brussels will take a walk to the "European Quarter" near Schumann Square, where the main offices of the European Union are gathered. Headquartered in the heart of Brussels, the EU's headquarters are modern and stand in stark contrast to the traditional architecture of the Old Town. The EU headquarters hosts "EU Day" at the beginning of May every year to promote the operation mechanism of EU institutions to the local people through a variety of interactive activities, and the Belgian Federation and the Brussels Metropolitan Government are also proud to have the EU headquarters, making the EU headquarters the brightest business card for the internationalization of the country and the city.
Compared with the popularity of the EU headquarters, nato headquarters is far behind. NATO's headquarters are located on the eastern outskirts of Brussels, and many locals don't know what the massive complex is for, and foreign tourists are too lazy to travel that far to see.
Several crises have exposed flaws in EU governance
Brussels has indeed witnessed the development and change of the EUROPEAN Union and NATO. After World War II, many European countries chose to embark on the road of integration, and the evolution trajectory of EU integration profoundly affected the new development of the ancient city of Brussels. Brussels' becoming the "capital" of the European Union is the product of compromise and the result of Brussels' active struggle. In April 1951, after the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, as well as West Germany, the initially selected temporary office was located in Luxembourg City, the capital of Luxembourg. In March 1957, after the six foreign ministers signed the two treaties establishing the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community in Rome, the Belgian government not only actively applied for Brussels as the headquarters option, but also carried out a large-scale urban transformation. Thanks to Brussels' unique geographical location (bordering Hoferdrol), cultural traditions, living conditions and other factors, the two organizations eventually set up their offices in Brussels. In 1965, the six countries signed the Brussels Treaty, and after the "three-in-one" European Economic Community decided to set its headquarters in Brussels. On November 1, 1993, the Treaty of Maastricht came into force, and after the formal establishment of the European Union, the EU also decided on the location of the various institutions, and was included in the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, which confirmed that the European Commission and the Council of the European Union were located in Brussels. The sessions of the European Parliament will alternate between Strasbourg and Brussels, France (plenary in Strasbourg).
Unlike the European Union, NATO, founded in 1949, moved its headquarters from France to Brussels in a hurry. In the 1960s, the contradictions between France and the United States were prominent. In 1966, France under de Gaulle withdrew from the NATO Integrated Military Organization and expelled nato's military headquarters, the Supreme Allied Command of Europe, out of France, forcing NATO to find a new foothold for its military headquarters. After NATO "moved its military headquarters to the most appropriate location" in Belgium, it moved the highest political decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, to Belgium, and eventually its political headquarters were located in Brussels, with its military headquarters in Mons. When moving NATO headquarters, one of the difficulties encountered was that many NATO officials working in Paris were reluctant to go to Brussels, mainly because they were paid less in Brussels than in Paris.
Developments in the international situation and the evolution of the two international organizations themselves affect their "press exposure" in the world. The years after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the collapse of the Soviet Union corresponded to the rise in the influence of the European Union and the decline in the role of NATO. In the decade since the end of the Cold War, the international situation has eased markedly. The in-depth development of the European Union and the relative silence of NATO are closely related to the situation in Europe. At the beginning of this century, the EU was very active, the Council of Europe at the level of heads of state or government and the Council of the European Union at the ministerial level were dizzying, the European Commission held a press conference at noon every day, the European Parliament was also very active, and journalists stationed in Brussels could not see the mail they received every day. On the eve of the launch of the euro (inaugurated on 1 January 2002), at a celebration in Brussels, the crowd was filled with emotion and a projected deer was running happily, symbolizing the deepening of EU integration.
During this period, in contrast to NATO, "news exposure" mainly focused on the successive eastward expansions after the Cold War and the frequent wars waged against sovereign countries. From 1999 to 2020, NATO's membership increased from 16 to 30 after five eastward expansions. From 1995 to 2013, the EU also underwent four enlargements, with the number of member states increasing from 12 to 28. From the debt crisis in Europe in 2009 to the refugee crisis, from the UK's "Brexit" to the current epidemic crisis, the EU's governance shortcomings have been exposed to varying degrees.
"Did the EU succeed after the Maastricht Treaty?" This is a question raised by many international media when eu countries commemorated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the treaty in February this year, and mentioned that "the EU is expanding eastward, Western European countries have begun to 'anti-EU movement'", "the EU level lacks a mechanism to deal with the debt crisis", "the UK has withdrawn from this club, and other countries are likely to follow suit", "In the early stage of the epidemic, many EU countries staged a farce of intercepting medical supplies from each other", "Sanctions on Russia, eu countries are worried about the intensification of the energy crisis" and so on.
"An unknown and untested European Union"
The display board in Brussels is easily reminiscent of the European Union summits, the G7 leaders' summit and the NATO summit held by Western leaders in Belgium, Germany and Spain at the end of June. The Wall Street Journal, taking stock of the three summits, said it reflected three aspects of Western policy: the European Union is the political side, the G7 is the economic side, and NATO is the military side.
In early July, Miao Lu, secretary general of the Globalization Think Tank (CCG), came to Belgium after finishing his research in the United States and also noticed a new display board at Brussels Airport. She told the Global Times reporter: "I remember that when I came to Brussels before, I often saw display signs at the airport that read 'Welcome to the European Union' and 'Brussels, the heart of Europe', but this time the airport displayed 'Welcome to Brussels, NATO home'." This makes us a little worried about the current state of the EU. Miao Lu said that in the next 10 days of European research, it can be felt that Brussels highlights the "NATO home" at this time and dilutes the "European capital" is of profound significance. Locals told her not only because NATO headquarters were not far from the airport, but more importantly because there was a real war going on in eastern Europe. In Paris, in the hotel where the delegation of the Globalization Think Tank stayed, the usually idle French held auctions and fundraisers for children who died in the war in Ukraine, which meant that even as far away as Western Europe, there was a war-esque mood.
According to Miao Lu, in the exchanges with many political and academic circles in the EU, the other side rarely mentioned the concept of "strategic autonomy", which was put forward by French President Macron in 2017, and they emphasized the dangers felt by the EU in terms of security, so the call for "hugging through NATO" is constantly rising.
Pascal Boniface, director of the French Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies, recently wrote that NATO is no longer in a state of "brain death", but has recovered, it has never been as strong as it is today, when Europeans are asking Americans to stay in Europe and increase troops, it is European strategic autonomy "brain death". Jason Davidson, a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, also believes that with the NATO Summit in Madrid, a fact of European security has become more and more obvious: NATO seems to have become the only viable guarantee of European national security, and in this context, the EU's goal of achieving strategic autonomy is unlikely to become a reality in the short term. Writing in the bimonthly U.S. issue of National Interest, Davidson wrote: "The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has made more Europeans realize that if they bet their defenses on an unknown and untested European Union, they risk being attacked, lost territory, or even conquered." He believes that NATO will remain a vital security mechanism in Europe given the eu's hopeless strategic autonomy and the continued interest and engagement of the United States in European security.
The conflict in Ukraine escalated into a "watershed for European security," with European countries placing more emphasis on security than at any time after the End of the Cold War. Against this backdrop, Brussels hung up a sign that read, "Welcome to Brussels, NATO Home," and it's no surprise that the city's business card of "European capital" was downplayed. But in any case, for the city of Brussels, NATO has only one office building, but there is more than one office building for EU institutions in its "European Zone".
Miao Lu also told the Global Times reporter that the feeling of research in Europe is that in terms of China policy, although there is a wrong understanding of China's position in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Europe is relatively pragmatic than the US policy. Negative sentiment towards China in the EU has risen, but it is far from what the United States has, and there is still a lot of room for cooperation between the EU and China in the economic field. Some EU think tank experts said that although NATO and EU documents refer to China as a "systemic challenge" and a "systemic opponent", it is different from the United States, which regards China as the "most important strategic competitor". Experts from EU think tanks also said that the new "strategic concept" document on China issued by the NATO summit "has a very tough attitude", but it has not received the support of some countries that are both NATO and EU member states. French scholar Boniface also suggested in the article that European countries should not be too worried about the "threat of China", and it is best to determine their own interests when handling relations with China, to distinguish them from the US approach, and not to be biased by the United States.