What if Europe had its own version of The West Wing? Could a thrilling fiction show like Sorkin's perhaps make the "behind the scenes" of the EU attractive and understandable for the average European?

When I asked my friends, the answers were all negative: "To begin with, you would need Europeans to speak the same language," or "you would need EU politics to be entertaining in itself," or my favourite, "that would be too American."

It's funny how whenever I come up with an idea based on something that is originally from the US, the argument against it is that it is "too American." After some months dealing with conversations about European identity, I keep noticing how we reject any inspiration from them, but how in fact, we define ourselves as opposed to them. That is, we take peace as our flagship, while the US has a wider acceptance of war; we are proud of our welfare system, as opposed to their "ferocious capitalism." Fine. But none of these will ever mean that we cannot learn from them in those fields they nail. Communication certainly being at the top.

The idea about Sorkin began fermenting last week, when I was disappointed in the lack of headlines about the Spanish general strike in pan-European media. If the issue was big enough for the Wall Street Journal to publish this interactive graphic narrating the struggles of the families in the crisis, why not for Euractiv? I wonder why foreign international media have more coverage of our stories than our own pan-European media.

Outlets like Euractiv or the European Voice mainly cover EU affairs, which does not necessarily mean European news. That is, the pan-European media we have developed so far is not really about Europe, but about the Brussels bubble. Like the institutions they cover, these media tend to be technical and target an elite, but not the general public which needs to be brought closer to the institutions.

While national media often fail to provide in-depth analysis because of their efforts to reach a general audience, pan-European outlets face the opposite problem. They have the right dose of technical and thoughtful analysis, but provide the citizenry with little ground for mutual understanding.

National stereotypes are relative to your own nationality. Especially when it comes to Belgium and its capital, Brussels. Because, let's face it, the home city of the EU institutions is rather unknown to most Europeans. You know that Parisians are snobby, Berliners are alternative and Romans are loud. But...what are Brusselians like?

The adjective you choose will most likely depend on the place you come from. When asked by a newly arrived Italian, my German colleague said they are "disorganised," the Brit chose the word "boring," and I, the Spaniard, just replied that the city was "cold" and "grey." The French apparently look at Belgians as their "villager" neighbours, while everyone else agreed on the word "bureaucratic." 

It is not a very warm list of stereotypes for a welcoming... Until you realise that Brussels is an acquired taste. Like coffee and beer, you might not like it on the first try, but by the end of a long stay, you will have learned to love it. Its charm, as with most true treasures in life, is a bit hidden.

You will, however, only wonder about Brussels' identity once you are done with the touristy stage of admiring the beauty of Grande Place and wondering about the importance of the Manneken Pis, the peeing boy that has become the city's emblem. And when you do, you might just reach the conclusion that there is no such thing as a Brusselian identity.

After all, what can be the unifying factor of a country and city that is divided into Flemish and francophone communities? Not to mention the multiculturalism provided by the presence of the EU bubble, as well as the immigration waves from Congo and the French-speaking Arab countries. (You probably wouldn't have guessed that the #1 name among new born children in Brussels is Mohammed.) The doubt is reasonable. But the fact that the identity of Brussels is hard to comprehend according to our own systems doesn't make it non-existent. It is just complex. And it mirrors the complexity of the institutions the city hosts.

Who hasn't heard of the famous Hogwarts Express, which transports Harry Potter and his friends to the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? But who knows about the similar train which runs every month between Brussels and Strasbourg? Ensuring the participation of members, assistants and staff of the European Parliament to the plenary session in Strasbourg, the magical device known only to the chosen few is not listed on the public schedule of the Belgian or French railway companies. A while ago, during my mission as an EP trainee to Strasbourg, I started questioning the role and functionality of the Parliament's three seats.

The whole issue began in 1952, when member states couldn't agree on the seats of the newly established European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Decades later, the EU member states decided unanimously to "fix" the question of the Parliament's location: the administrative staff is now based in Luxembourg, and the everyday activity of committees and political groups takes place in Brussels, but the official seat of the Parliament remains Strasbourg, where 12 plenary sessions are to be held every year. However, with every new treaty, the role and functions of the European Parliament increased considerably and its presence in the proximity of the Council and Commission became more and more relevant. With the majority of the Parliament's work already being carried out in Brussels, one might question the necessity of moving the whole "circus" to Strasbourg every month.

Today, I woke up to the news that my mother's company is shutting down. She is a nurse, and for the last six years, she has been working for a little company that makes medical examinations in construction companies. When these started to go downhill in 2008, it was clear that my mother's company wouldn't survive long. I therefore expected the news. But it arrived on the day that the EU is holding a summit to solve the crisis a few streets away from my internship office in Brussels.

Yesterday, I was considering walking by the area out of curiosity. "What do these summits look like?" But after talking to my mum today, I wanted to walk by as an active citizen. Those that are in charge of getting us out of the hole are just 10 minutes away from me, and I have the possibility of making my voice heard. God knows I don't want to miss that. So I thought of carrying a sign with the sentence: "MY MOTHER LOST HER JOB TODAY. PLEASE REMEMBER HER AND THE OTHER 23 MILLION UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE." No yelling, no whistling, not a single form of violence or even ironic passive-aggression. Just a polite reminder of the real reason why the leaders are meeting today.