As the Parliament welcomed thousands of inquisitive visitors during the Open Days, EPTV was on hand to see how citizens could discover how Europe works for themselves.

Close to You: Festival of Europe

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/16301051/m005-0042-en.srt

Crowds came to the European Parliament  in Brussels for this open day.

It was a chance for many citizens  to explore this institution.

In the queue we met Laurent  and his family.

Laurent is French and lives in Brussels.

He's visiting the workplace of MEPs  for the first time.

He's with friends who have made  the journey from France.

To pass the time till they get in,  Emerique asks questions

Which country will join  the European Union in 2013?

Croatia, Estonia or Switzerland?  -Croatia.

After several minutes' waiting  and a number of questions later,

It's big and not easy  to find your way around.

Let's work this out.  I think this is the main Hemicycle.

Laurent heads for  a parliamentary committee room,

while elsewhere in the EP a debate on  the question of citizenship takes place.

The visitors can put their questions  directly to the MEPs present.

We had many questions.  The people are looking for answers.

I think it's an important time to have  this open day in the European Parliament.

It's the largest chamber of citizens  in the European Union.

MEPs tried out a slightly  unusual process - speed dating.

The principle is simple. Any citizen can  have a one-to-one meeting with an MEP

Citizens don't know much about MEPs  at all. They don't know the work they do.

I wanted to ask Ms Durant  what action is still going on

to potentially impose a moratorium  on shale gas in Europe.

Often we get it wrong  by being too didactic

and we inundate people  with messages, emails, flyers, etc.

What people want  is to say what they think

and then you must respond and educate  them. But first you must listen.

Sometimes it's hard to listen  to what they say if they're angry.

We return to Laurent and his family  as they explore a committee room.

It's a chance to understand the work  of MEPs and to have a bit of fun.

I don't think they've been imbued  the way we were

with the fundamental ideas about Europe,

in order to establish a climate of peace  between nations, and for solidarity.

So we need to bring them here to get  them to understand the interests,

and that nations keep talking  even if they don't agree.

Choosing your political party  isn't like playing the lottery.

It's best to find out some information  before going to vote.

After this visit, will Laurent vote  in the next European election in 2014?

In the last election,  the turnout dropped to 43%.

It's a trend that the institutions  want to reverse.