Hello there, Felix here from Judith’s team.
As a lot of you will know, Judith recently hosted a group of 24 young apprentices from the South East of England. We assembled at King’s Cross St. Pancras International, meeting up with groups of apprentices who’d travelled from across the region, Kent, West Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Names were checked off lists, tickets were distributed and before we knew it, we were passing through the Channel Tunnel and on our way to Brussels!
On arrival we met Kate Coulson, our colleague who is a Parliamentary Assistant (APPA) working in Judith’s Brussels office. She handed over our tickets and kindly set us in the direction of the hostel, which gave us our first taste of the famed Brussels transport system! Comfortable as the trains were, the lack of signage was a little unsettling. Fortunately, our Chief of Staff, Gabrielle was on hand to save the day. Indeed, legend has it she has yet to encounter a language she cannot master, so it was in her impeccable French that we placed our trust, which ultimately got us to our accommodation in time to kick start our busy itinerary!
During the first evening we had a fantastic event in the MEP salon. Several of Judith’s fellow Liberal Democrat MEP’s took the time to discuss with our visitors, the EU and how central opportunities for young people are to it. Ben Butters, a representative from EUROCHAMBRES, highlighted just how globalised the workplace now is, and how the apprentices could best make use of that environment. Speaking personally, I couldn’t help but feel a little envious. To follow MEPs or Chief Executives online, or on TV, is one thing, but to actually have direct access to them and the opportunity to pick their brains, as our apprentices did afterwards, is absolutely brilliant! It was great to see them take up those opportunities. 
On an anecdotal level it was also fascinating to speak with the apprentices and hear about their experiences of apprenticeships, which were universally positive. All too often, university is simply presented as the default route, yet we know it’s not a “one size fits all” situation and these apprentices were evidence of that.
The second day started with the somewhat more relaxed option of the bus, which we took to the European Parliament Visitor’s Centre. Here we were greeted by an experienced civil servant from the European Commission, who gave us a fascinating talk on the EU. The EU as a topic has dominated the news agenda now for almost four years, but rarely, if ever, do you get the chance to hear about it and all of its institutions, conventions and processes explained with such clarity. Again, it was fantastic for us all to get such an insight. We were then given a tour of the building, including the hemicycle. Its modern and practical approach was extremely refreshing and is something our own parliament could take note from! Each seat had a set of buttons from which the sitting MEP could vote instead of having to pile out of the doors and into separate chambers, as they do in Westminster. There were also enough seats for all the members, a concept our own House of Commons has yet to grasp.
After that it was into the city centre for another Belgian delicacy: frites! an afternoon spent exploring the city by virtue of a scavengers hunt, before hopping back on the same Eurostar as a certain Liberal Democrat party grandee by the name of Vince Cable.
All in all, a terrific trip and hopefully a great opportunity for our young people to appreciate just how many wonderful opportunities are out there for them to make use of. I look forward to the next one!
Felix
I hope this experience will give our visitors a chance to tell their friends, their fellow apprentices, and their families about all that is available to them through schemes like Erasmus+. It’s a huge shame despite that hard work in this area and knowledge of the routes to vocational education are still not well known. Young people like these apprentices are this country’s future. By providing them with the tools for success and access to the best training programmes, we help build a stronger, more prosperous and more enriched country. Something that benefits us all!
Continuing on the same theme, on Friday, I was asked for an interview by SKY News and was delighted to have a chance to raise the 
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The Liberal Democrats demand better and have set out a way of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. We are fighting for a 
The EU has a solid framework in place which includes Ambient Air Quality Directives, with low emission zones and incentives for cleaner transportation starting to be implemented across cities and regions in Europe with encouraging results. To combat dirty air, we need ambition, we need to work together. 
As a British Liberal Democrat, I was elected to keep Britain in the European Union – and one of my main reasons for wanting to be here is to help protect our shared environment. 
Later in the week the Liberal Democrat delegation had the opportunity to meet with the European Chief Negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier. It was a positive meeting which provided us with some keen insights into what may happen next for Brexit. As Liberal Democrats, we are not here to play, and for the good of everyone in the UK, we must stop Brexit.
In the spirit of transparency, I am making it easy to see what I am up to as a one of your MEPs. As well as this weekly blog: I have video updates on 
Everyone understands, now, that leaving the European Union would be a disaster for British families, jobs and education. I was pleased to hear her commitment to grant a further extension to the Brexit deadline, to give Britain space to think and our next Prime Minister time to do the sensible thing to call a referendum on the final deal. We need to be central to the European Project, not outside of it.
Later in the week it was great to meet former MEP Felix Schwalba-Holt with Yorkshire for Europe. Back in the UK I was on the panel for ITV’s ‘Last Word’, where we discussed life as an MEP, the Liberal Democrat leadership contest, the future Prime Minister and of course Brexit. Afterwards I stopped to chat to the wonderful Steven Bray and the SODEM group outside of Westminster. Their tireless campaigning is incredible, do go and say hello if you get the chance.
As seems to now be my working pattern, I attended regional events over the weekend. First I attended Newbury College where I had the pleasure of meeting the Principal and his team, where we discussed apprenticeships and opportunities for young people. I was then honoured to join the Twinning events and ceremony between Newbury, Berkshire and Carcaixent, Spain. Twinning is a shared European project and a fantastic exchange of culture and people. Such opportunities are invaluable and they transcend politics. I love this movement that has kept doors open to our neighbours across #Europe. 
If you are planning to hold street stalls to promote Europe over the summer, please let my team know by contacting us at