One day, a talented choreographer will have to take inspiration from a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels during a vote. Arms raised, thumbs up or down, rhythmic movements, comical elbow raises, strange postures, nods of the head, all this resembles a perfectly regulated ballet of deputies that a teasing mind could title “The Lake of Signs”.
This voting session is one of the last scenes filmed in the documentary Le Compromis. In the corridors of power. His goal ? Immerse yourself in the heart of the European Parliament, following the work of three strong-willed MEPs. And, at the same time, analyze power relations within European institutions.
For months, the Dutchwoman Lara Wolters (Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats), the experienced Finnish Heidi Hautala (Greens group) and the Frenchwoman Manon Aubry (European United Left) have been fighting to have an important text adopted regarding corporate social and environmental responsibility. Presented in this way, the scenario suggests a forbidding television subject, oscillating between work sessions and complex legal analyses.
Delicate strategy
If the subject is austere, the documentary is not, largely thanks to the personality of Lara Wolters. But also to the judicious placement of the camera, alternating proximity with the speakers and discretion to observe moments of doubt and fatigue of the deputies and their collaborators.
In close collaboration with Heidi Hautala and Manon Aubry, Lara Wolters discusses the text to the nearest comma with the negotiators from the European People’s Party (EPP, right) and those from Renew Europe (liberals). Because if she can count on the support of her group, as well as those of the left and the Greens, the Dutch must absolutely win over part of the center and the right to her cause. How can we get around pressure from lobbies and political adversaries?
Sometimes on the verge of exhaustion, but with a combativeness never found wanting, the Dutch MEP hides nothing of her ambitions, her doubts and her hopes. “If we want to make the world a better place, we have to go through Europe,” she assures. I don’t see any other continent doing this. Is China planning to do this? Russia ? Has the United States improved workers’ rights? We must set an example. »
In perfect English, Lara Wolters, Heidi Hautala and Manon Aubry discuss, parley and confront with the negotiators of the EPP and Renew Europe. The entire documentary revolves around this delicate strategy. Throughout the negotiations with a view to the adoption by Parliament of the law on the “duty of vigilance” of companies, the documentary turns into a soap opera with twists and turns.
“What could be more beautiful than being there, at the heart of democracy? The hardest part is being in this place of power and seeing that, when it comes to justice, climate change, immigration, colossal subjects like these, we cannot manage to do what is necessary. And that’s extremely frustrating,” laments Lara Wolters, facing the camera. The text, although watered down after complex negotiations, will finally be adopted by Parliament after months of an exhausting fight.
