12 October 2010 - 17 October 2010
Field Trip to Strasbourg, the Alsace, Trier, and Bastogne
The European Investment Bank, Schengen, A Castle in Alsace, the Maginot Line, and A Casino
On Thursday we visited the European Investment Bank, an institution responsible for allocating loan guarantees and other financial products toward objectives that provide an economic return and fulfill a social purpose. The EIB is distinct from the governmental institutions of the European Union, yet the criteria through which each project is evaluated suggests an altruistic deviation from a purely profit maximizing institution. Rather, the EIB is a distinct financial entity; it acts as a private bank that supports EU policies by directing loan guarantees toward sectors or other institutions that implement such policies either directly or indirectly. Though the EIB functions on the level of large scale financial projects-it interacts primarily with national banks, who act as financial intermediaries between the EIB and the small to medium size enterprises (SMEs), the EIB viewpoint aligns with the EU in recognizing the economic potential of SMEs to drive market growth and job creation.
Created in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is officially a non-governmental entity that promotes European objectives via financial transactions. Currently its holdings total 232.4 billion Euros, with a lending volume of slightly under 80 billion. Under EU mandates, the EIB finances projects inside and outside the European Union, with different concentrations based on the circumstances of the region in question. The EIB’s protocol dictates that it works exclusively with large scale enterprise or national governments, thereby downgrading its interaction with SMEs to an indirect relationship. Nevertheless, the EIB works through direct instruments such as loan guarantees, and does not give out grants, a policy that has enabled it to make savvy, realistic assessments of the projects. Since its creation, no entity partnered with the EIB has defaulted on a loan.
The EIB, in certain aspects is similar to the World Bank, however it is a much larger entity, with approximately three times the value of its lending portfolio. The EIB’s role is circumstantial and dynamic, with an ever evolving set of policies based on regional and international affairs. Currently, the EIB is engaged in raising more funds to provide capital for projects aimed at regional development in response to the financial crisis. The main focus is, coincidentally, on the energy sector, and the overarching issue of climate change. As the energy sector is directly related to the work of Foratom, I asked the EIB representative if nuclear energy was included in the EIB’s financial projects. He told me that although the natural assumption was toward renewable sources, nuclear energy was certainly not excluded from such projects, however the allocation of funding to promote nuclear energy was the domain of national governments in accordance with the respective policies of the EU member states.
The social competencies of the European Investment Bank are diverse and farsighted. They include: (a) Population Movements and Involuntary Resettlements, (b) Minority Rights, (c) Core Labor Standards, (d) Occupational and Community Health and Safety, (e) Public Consultation and Participation, and (f) Seminars on Business and Human Rights. More information on each concentration can be found on their website: http://www.eib.org/.
From the EIB, we proceeded onto the next part of our several day excursion, to the small town of Schengen on the converging borders of Luxembourg, Germany, and France. Schengen is a picturesque but unremarkable town where the Schengen Agreement was signed, which effectively eliminated the need for separate visas for each of its member states. I recently read an article on the Foreign Policy in which every country in the world was ranked based on the ease with which its citizens could travel to other parts of the world. At number one in the world was the United Kingdom, with a few the Scandinavian countries close behind. The United States was around 7th or 8th, and India was around 76th. While the Schengen Agreement may not seem politically significant for citizens of the United States, many citizens of other nations benefit substantially from the agreement.
After a brief lunch we embarked toward our next destination, the Fleckenstein Castle. The Castle was located in the Alsace region of France, which we drove through by bus. The castle itself was impressive mainly for its longevity, having been built initially in the 12th century. Our professor informed us that there were a series of castles in the area, as this particular area in Alsace had held a strategic importance; it was the location of a mountain range that interrupted kilometers of open fields. Whoever controlled the mountains therefore controlled the entire area.
From there, we drove to an outpost along the Maginot Line, the strategic barrier at which the French hoped to defend themselves against the advance of the German Army. While popular US stereotypes typically portray the French Military as an ineffective, effeminate group of crepe-consuming, surrender-happy sissies, in reality the Maginot Line was a solidly fortified line of defense, stretching along the entire border, and complete with a series of underground trains used to transport troops and supplies without ever exposing them to the enemy on the surface. Machine gun turrets pointed out from steel walls, and atop of the bunker additional turrets were positioned to create an inescapable crossfire. Although it is commonly believed to have only covered the French and German border, the Maginot Line also stretched along the French and Belgian border. The Germans were effective in their invasion because of their use of glider aircraft, from which paratroopers were able to get past French defenses. Though the French anti-air guns would have been effective against the glider aircraft, the French mistakenly believed that the glider aircraft that they saw were German planes that had been hit and were plummeting to the ground. Due to this tragic misidentification, the Germans were able to land troops behind French lines and take the line from the surface.
Having had enough history for one day, we proceeded to our hotel. We had dinner in a casino near the hotel, and afterwards I joined some peers in the main room. Though glamorous in Bond movies and card counting operations, such activities are not my scene. As my peers lost their money at blackjack tables, I enjoyed a few drinks with my professor, who also refrained from joining the tables, on account of the fact that they did not have his game, Craps. By the end of the night, we had witnessed several peers lose sums of 25 to 50 euros, and others who had beat the odds and gone up nearly 50 euros, only to break even in the end.
On the plus side, I took this opportunity to inaugurate a new suit, to great success:
The Situations got nothing on Saint Luc
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