Vox Pop: Marijana from Croatia

Age: 31

Country of origin: Croatia

Country of residence: Belgium

Profession: EU affairs, European Commission

 

Q: How does the EU influence your day-to-day life?

A: The simplest example: I have the right to live in Belgium and work for the EU institutions, which would not have been the case six years ago. I can travel freely within the EU, study abroad, shop and order goods. Also there is no more roaming in the EU which was a huge change in my everyday life.

 

Q: When you think about the EU, what is the first picture that comes to your mind?

A: Better together.

 

Q: End the sentence: “Twenty years from now the EU … “

A: … will still be important as much as it is now, and will be working for future goals for its citizens.

 

Q: Choose three adjectives for the EU!

A: Diverse, multicultural, prosperous!

 

Q: Explain the EU to an 8-year-old child (in elementary school) in one sentence.

A: It’s a community of different countries working as one big family. 🙂

 

Q: If the EU was an animal, what would it be and why?

A: A giraffe: tall with a long neck allowing to have a broad view, like the EU that has an overview over all Member States from above.

 

Q: Is there a dish (in your country) that describes Europe best, and why?

A: An octopus with potatoes baked under a peka (bell-like lid). The powerful octopus represents the centre of the EU and all Member States around it.