European Council President Charles Michel on Tuesday reprimanded Brussels’ planning chief Pascal Smet for accusing Eurocrats taking drugs regularly,
Michel’s spokesman, Barend Leyts, told Politico that Smet’s comments, Brussels state’s urbanization secretary, “are unacceptable”. In.”
POLITICO revealed last week that Smet said “many people who work for European institutions take drugs” during a closed-door meeting with the European Commission’s Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels (OIB) in January. was accused.
The regional politician’s comments were aimed at ridiculing the false outrage of EU civil servants, who have cast doubt on the European Commission’s plans to relocate several agencies from the EU quarter to the poor northern quarter of Brussels, which has been accused of crime and Has a reputation for drug use.
During the meeting, Smet alleged that drug consumption was rampant in EU quarters and even suggested that cocaine was a popular drug among EU employees, saying that “Shuman In, Those Drugs Are Working Too… And Maybe Not The Same Drugs They’re Dealing With [in the Northern Quarter]But maybe a little white.
Michel’s condemnation of Smet’s comments came in response to an open letter in which Renouveau & Democracy, the largest union representing EU civil servants, called on Michel to “react to the onslaught”. The trade union argued that, as the budgetary authority responsible for the institution’s construction policy, it was the Council President’s duty “to protect the reputation, work and honor of EU officials”.
Last Friday, all unions representing workers in EU institutions sent a message Letter Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn demanded Smet retract his “intolerable” comments.
A commission spokesman declined to clarify whether Hahn had reacted to the letter, saying the institution “does not comment further on internal meetings.”
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who received a similar letter from the unions, also declined to comment on the controversy.
Renouveau & Démocratie president Cristiano Sebastiani said that in addition to apologizing to angry civil servants, Smet needed to commit to being more transparent about plans that could see six EU agencies moved to the northern quarter. The union insists the relocation plan has been opaque and wants more information to find out whether the move makes financial sense.
But others believe the regional politician should face more serious consequences. MEP Eva-Maria Popcheva, a Spanish member of the Renew group, demanded at the end of the week that politicians “apologise and resign.”
“We at @Europarl_EN will not accept this kind of disrespect [EU] also works hard for the benefit of civil service [Belgium] and its citizens,” Popcheva Tweeted, “Instead you should dedicate your efforts to making BRU safer for all.”
Eddie Wax contributed reporting.