Diplomatic Economic Club^{® Since 1997}

General Representative of Flanders Thomas Castrel

Ambassador of Belgium Carl Peeters and General Representative of Flanders Thomas Castrel on the occasion of the Belgian Presidency of the EU presented on April 15, 2024 at the Great Guild in Riga a theater performance „This is Europe“ by Hendrik Vos and Frans Grapperhaus.

Belgian political scientist Hendrik Vos at the University of Ghent is director of the Center for EU Studies. His specialization is European politics, EU decision-making and current issues in European politics.He wrote the book «This is Europe» and transferred this story to the stage in a theater performance of the same name a theater performance.
Hendrik Vos and Frans Grapperhaus, a Belgian-Dutch duo, share a deep interest and admiration for Europe.

After centuries of division, six European countries joined forces. Borders and barriers have disappeared.
The continent was united through the creation of institutions and the conclusion of treaties.
But above all, it is a history of people: Prime ministers, presidents, chancellors and members of commissions determined the direction of development.
They became allies or rivals. Sometimes they couldn’t stand each other, sometimes they became soul mates.
They wrote history in dreary conference rooms, but also in beautiful palaces, and in the cellars and caves of monasteries and castles.

The book and the play represent a journey across the continent following the main characters and random passers-by. This is the story of ministers who played the cello, drank port and cola, or wandered the corridors in knitted slippers.
The trajectory of European unification did not follow a fixed pattern. It was a bizarre line, full of unexpected twists.
There was never a script or plan that subsequently received widespread support from the masses. Step by step, the European Union was created.
This is the story of how the EU became what it is today.