It is holiday season in Brussels. Belgians and tourists stroll through Christmas markets that sell hot, spiced wine and Belgium's famous waffles. They pause before an enormous Christmas tree in the Grand Place, the central square of Brussels that is surrounded by elaborately decorated old "guildhalls."
在布鲁塞尔，节日气氛很浓。比利时本地居民和来自其他国家的游客们都聚集在圣诞集市上，这里销售着温热的红酒、还有比利时有名的烧饼。布鲁塞尔市中心竖立着一棵巨大的圣诞树，很多人也在圣诞树这儿流连忘返。
Profound change
These old European rituals are taking place at a time of profound change in Europe. For the first time, Europeans have a permanent president of the European Union, former Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy, who takes office on January 1. They have a new EU foreign policy chief and new EU commissioners, and after years of setbacks European governments finally ratified a pact called the Lisbon Treaty to bind the bloc together.
这些庆祝圣诞节的活动和往年没有什么不同，不过，欧洲大陆的政治格局，在过去这一年里，却出现了很大的变化。比利时前首相赫尔曼.范龙佩被选为欧盟第一位常任主席，并将于一月一号正式上任。另外，欧盟外交政策新一届负责人以及欧盟委员会新一届成员，新年伊始，也都将走马上任。经过多年的协商之后，里斯本协定终于被纳入实施。
Nowhere are the changes felt more keenly than in Brussels, the administrative center of the 27-member bloc. Angelo Callant, a Flemish speaking Belgian, says he supports the Lisbon Treaty and he is proud that a Belgian is the EU first president.
在欧盟总部布鲁塞尔，可以强烈地感觉到这些变化。来自比利时的名叫安哲罗.加兰特的游客说，他支持里斯本协定，而且对欧盟第一位常任主席将由自己国家的前首相来出任，感到骄傲。
"I am for a stronger Europe, so it is a good evolution now ... Europe has an important job in some issues. We need a stronger Europe for the economy and other things," Callant said.
他说：“我赞成欧洲更强大，所以很高兴能往这方面发展。在一些问题上，欧洲能发挥很重要的作用。在经济发展和很多其他议题上，我们都需要一个强大的欧洲。”
French tourist Jacques Tacquoi is also pro-European Union. As a businessman, Tacquoi says, having a European Union and the euro currency makes a difference. He says he feels more European than French.
来自法国的游客雅克.德库瓦也对欧盟表示赞成。他说，作为一名生意人，欧盟和欧元的存在，确实有好处。他认为自己首先是欧洲人，然后才是法国人。
Some not interested in treaty
But many Europeans do not share these sentiments. Survey after survey shows that many are not interested in the Lisbon Treaty or the European institutions representing them. Turnout for European parliamentary elections last June was a record low, less than half of voting-age Europeans cast their ballots.
不过，不是所有的欧洲人都是这么想的。很多民意调查都显示，很多欧洲人对里斯本条约、以及欧洲的各种机构，根本不感兴趣。六月份举行的欧洲议会选举，只有不到一半的适龄投票人参与了投票。
Frederic Micheau has been tracking this apathy as director of studies for the IFOP polling institute in Paris.
弗雷德里克.米歇尔是总部设在巴黎的一个民意调查研究所的项目主任，他一直关注很多人对欧盟所怀有的这种冷漠态度。
Micheau says many Europeans feel the European Union is just a huge bureaucracy. Most Europeans have never heard of their new EU president Mr. Van Rompuy or their new foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton of Britain.
他说，很多欧洲人都觉得欧盟只不过是一个庞大的官僚机构而已，绝大多数欧洲人都从来没听说过即将上任的欧盟主席范龙佩，也没听说过新的外交政策负责人、来自英国的凯瑟琳.阿什顿。
English tourist Dean Kershaw, visiting the Christmas markets in Brussels with his family, is no fan of the European Union. He believes it is more of a handicap than an asset. Kershaw says he is glad Britain is not part of the euro currency zone, which he believes has made things more expensive.
在布鲁塞尔的圣诞市场上和家人一起流览的英国的游客迪恩.科尔萧，对欧盟也不感冒。他认为，欧盟带来的弊病大于好处。他对英国没有加入欧盟货币体系，感到很庆幸。他说，欧元的产生使得很多东西都更贵了。
"I think that you can be in Europe without actually being in Europe in a governmental sense," Kershaw said. "We are an island and we should have our own independence. [The EU] does OK with countries like Norway and Switzerland [which are not part of the EU] so I cannot see why not for us. I think we would be a lot richer if we were separate."
科尔萧说：“我认为，你不用非得绑在一个统一的政治架构下，才能做一个欧洲人；英国是一个岛国，我们就应该有自己的独立；像挪威和瑞士，没有加入欧盟，不也挺好；我们为什么不可以呢？在我看来，如果我们没有加入欧盟的话，会更富裕。”
Too much meddling?
European critics argue the European Union meddles too much in their lives. The European Union is involved in many areas, from setting fishing quotas and agricultural subsidies to punishing companies that violate European antitrust rules. The EU parliament is gaining increasing powers although it cannot initiate legislation.
European officials say they are working hard to make people understand what the European Union is all about. The European Parliament's Paris office, for example, has launched citizens' forums around France to explain what the parliament does.
欧盟官员表示，正在尽力让大家了解欧盟到底是怎么回事。欧洲议会的巴黎办事处，就在法国各地设立了信息中心，以便大家了解欧洲议会的具体职能。
"I think people do not realize the level of protection they get through [EU] rules. Especially for consumers. Especially for environmental matters. If we still have agriculture that is very important on the economic level, it is because of the Common Agricultural Policy," European Parliament spokeswoman, Dominique Robert stated. "So I think there are a lot of issues which would not exist in a positive way if Europe did not exist."
欧洲议会的发言人多米妮克.罗贝尔说：她说：“人们现在还没有意识到欧盟各项政策予以各界、尤其是消费者的保护，而且尤其是在环保问题上。如果说农业在欧洲经济体当中还依然发挥着重要的作用的话，那和我们的‘共同农业政策’有着直接的关系。要是没有欧盟在的话，很多有利的条件都不会存在。”
What next?
London School of Economics analyst Iain Begg says the European Union has been focusing on pushing through institutional changes for years. So no wonder Europeans are underwhelmed. Now with the Lisbon Treaty in force, Begg expects to see some action.
伦敦政治经济学院的分析人士易恩.贝格说，欧盟这么多年来一直在程序上花功夫，如今，里斯本条约正式纳入实施了，该是见成效的时候了。
"I would suggest 'watch this space' ought to be the watchword here because at last the European Union will get on with doing things rather than the process of how it does things," Begg said.
他说：“欧盟现在终于将能够开始做实事了，以前大多是在程序上花费功夫。”
Begg says the Copenhagen conference is one example of a more vigorous European Union. While Europe failed to secure a tough and binding climate agreement, he says, its citizens see the European Union as the "good guy" in the greenhouse gas talks - pushing for the kinds of environmental changes they support.
贝格说，刚刚结束的哥本哈根会议是欧盟在行动的一个例子。他说，尽管欧盟方面没有能够确保一个强力的气候协议出台，但是，欧盟各国民众认为在这次会谈期间，欧盟从总体上讲，扮演的是一个非常积极的角色，而且在会上推动的，是各个成员国的民众都支持的环保议题。 |