UK visitors to the European Parliament

School trips are often seen as a good way to have fun with one's classmates. Yet sometimes the teenagers take more pleasure from the didactic part of a visit than their teachers. The two groups of London students who recently went to the European Parliament are a good illustration of this approach.

A couple of weeks ago, 24 members of the National Farmers Union travelled to Brussels to visit the European Parliament and meet officials from the European Commission. Although it was not the first time for all of them, they enjoyed the trip and most of all, the contact with MEPs.

Their interest: history and politics. Their age: 16 to 18. Their names: Julia, Lucy and Glen. Of the 35 students from Barrow Sixth Form College who went to Strasbourg last month, three came forward to comment on their visit to the European Parliament. Reactions on the spot.

Two groups of farmers from Northern Ireland and Scotland visited the European Parliament in Brussels in early December. Very concerned by the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, they rely on their MEPs to carry their voices.

Forty-nine members of the North-Yorkshire East federation of Women's Institutes went to Brussels in November to visit the European Parliament. From climate change to violence against women, this awareness-raising group likes to campaign for important issues. Let's discover what they think of their institutional journey.

Some numbers are magic. Eighty-nine is undoubtedly one of them. 1689: the English Parliament passed the Bill of Rights. 1789: the French Revolution starts, ending centuries of "absolute monarchy". 1989: the Berlin Wall fell, bringing down the Iron Curtain. Small wonder then that twenty years later, 89 young European people born on November 9th, 1989, were keen to accept an invitation from the European Parliament in Brussels, to celebrate the "20th anniversary of democratic change in Central and Eastern Europe" and take part in a debate on "What does Europe means for me". Back from the Belgian capital, the British students tell the story of a unique event.