Despite being our last day in Brussels, Monday was packed with meetings. The group woke early and headed to the train station to where we caught a train to Mons; the train ride was fairly quick, though several of us caught a few more minutes of rest on the way. When we arrived at the station, we were picked up by and driven to NATO/SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) by several members of the attaché. After clearing security, we headed onto the grounds and prepared for the morning’s meetings with a cup of coffee (or two). First up on the schedule was a morning full of meetings, the first of which was a Command Briefing by LTC Niels Johansen of Denmark. The briefing introduced an organizational and operational framework to NATO, and summarized the evolution of NATO from its initial to present role in global politics. Afterwards, we discussed the NATO Defense Planning Process (NDPP) with MAJ Ed Hardy of the U.S., a process which he identified as harmonizing the alliances and capabilities of NATO members. This presentation was quite helpful in identifying one aspect of the evolution of NATO as described by LTC Johansen. MAJ Hardy explained how NATO Defense Planning is currently shifting from individual to cooperative initiatives towards developing and identifying the capabilities of NATO members, which is a result of the ongoing global economic pressures that favors prioritization and smart defense. Lastly, the group met with Brigadier General Richard Lauren at a round table discussion during which we were able to ask questions concerning current NATO operations and future prospects. The meetings with NATO/SHAPE helped to promote greater understanding of the changing role of the alliance and how this development would impact the United States, particularly with regard to our participation and contributions to the coalition. After a morning of intense dialogue, we headed back to Brussels, where we had two more sessions in the evening. First, we met with Deputy Secretary General Christian Kremer of the European People’s Party, which is currently the largest transnational party of Europe. After visiting the European Parliament and Commission earlier the previous week, it was beneficial to see how political parties were organized and how they operated within the European Union system. Being composed of numerous national political parties, the European People’s Party (which would align more closely with the Democratic Party in the United States), was tasked with the challenge of finding common ground based upon its Christian Democratic principles despite the various cultural and ideological diversity of its members. Notwithstanding this mission, the party is able to lobby its agenda quite impressively, as suggested by its majority status in the European Council, European Commission and European Parliament. During the last meeting on Monday, we met with Dr. Stefan Gehrold, the Head of the European Office at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which was just a short walk from our previous meeting. There, Dr. Gehrold described the mission of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, an international, non-profit think-tank. After outlining the history, organization, current works, and goals of the organization, we concluded the session with a dialogue about the current challenges of the European and prospects for streamlining the institutions in order to more adequately reach the objectives of peace and democracy within the community.
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