Belgium and much of Europe has been sweltering with record-breaking temperatures since last week.
The commission issued guidelines for its employees earlier this week, including avoiding going out during the hottest times of the day, drinking water regularly and starting work earlier.
But according to internal communications seen by POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook, the advice angered some Commission staff who work in buildings without air conditioning, including DG AGRI.
“It’s like feudalism,” a commission official working on the lower level of Berlemont, speaking on the condition of anonymity to speak freely, told POLITICO on Friday, referring to the fact that housing commissioners on the upper floors have to keep their ACs on. A second officer agreed that it was a “disgrace”.
A third employee working on the 8th floor told Politico on Friday that the temperature inside was 25.7 degrees even with the AC on.
The heat wave has prompted renewed discussion about the lack of air conditioning systems in homes and offices across much of Europe. Only about a fifth of homes on the continent have AC. In Belgium, one-fifth of all trains are without AC, forcing the national rail company to cancel several peak-hour services.
The European Parliament also suffered a blackout this week due to energy consumption in its cooling system.
Gerardo Fortuna and Gabriel Gavin contributed to this report.
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