EU Commission HQ Forces Staff to Turn Off AC During Heatwave - While Executives Stay Cool 😡

Employees at the Berlaymont building in Brussels received an emergency text at midday: due to extreme weather, air conditioning on floors 1 through 7 was shut down for the rest of the day. The 13-story building houses Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the 13th floor and all 26 commissioners on floor 8 and above. Their AC stayed on. 😡

Belgium and much of Europe have been dealing with record-high temperatures all week. The Commission issued guidelines advising staff to avoid going outside early in the morning, drink plenty of water, and start work earlier. But for those working in lower floors without AC, the advice has only fueled resentment.

One employee who works on a lower floor called it feudalism - the higher-ups get to keep their cooling while everyone below swelters. Another called the situation a disgrace. Even on the 8th floor, with AC supposedly running, the indoor temperature still reached 25.7 degrees Celsius.

The heatwave has reignited debate about Europe's lack of air conditioning. Only about a fifth of households on the continent have AC. In Belgium, a fifth of all trains lack air conditioning, forcing the national railway to cancel many peak services. The European Parliament also experienced power outages this week due to the high energy draw from its cooling system. 🔥