The European Commission turned off the air conditioners due to record-breaking heat in Brussels
In Brussels, due to a record heat wave, the European Commission was forced to partially shut down the air conditioning system at its headquarters. The decision affected several floors of the Berlaymont building and has already impacted working conditions for staff. The Commission notes that these measures are temporary and related to extreme weather conditions.
The European Commission’s headquarters in Brussels was partially without air conditioning on Friday due to a heat wave that has swept across Belgium and much of Europe, Politico reports. According to the publication, staff at the Berlaymont building received an urgent text message warning that the cooling system on several floors would be shut down for the remainder of the day due to extreme weather conditions.
The message sent to employees read: “BERL – URGENT – Due to extreme weather conditions, the cooling system on floors 1 through 7 will be shut down until the end of the day.” The Berlaymont building is a 13-story complex housing the offices of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, her commissioners, and thousands of staff members, and it was here that the effects of the infrastructure overheating were most acutely felt.
At the same time, the European Commission sent out recommendations to employees on how to behave during the heatwave, specifically advising them to avoid being outdoors during peak hours, drink more water, and, if possible, start their workday earlier. However, these recommendations sparked discontent among some staff members, especially in buildings where cooling systems are unreliable or nonexistent.
One employee, speaking to the media, sharply described the situation as “it’s like feudalism,” referring to the uneven working conditions on different floors. Other employees also stated that the temperature in the offices remains uncomfortable even when the air conditioning is running. According to another employee, on some floors, the temperature inside the rooms reached nearly 26 degrees, which significantly hindered work.
Similar problems were reported this week in the European Parliament, where power outages also occurred due to increased energy consumption linked to the widespread use of cooling systems. Politico reported on this.
Russia has expressed its readiness for dialogue with the European Union; this position was announced on June 23 by Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian president. Details regarding the potential formats of the negotiations have not yet been disclosed.
