Café
EU politicians are threatening to walk out of important committee meetings in protest against what is seen as an “appalling” lack of diversity in conference refreshment options.
In a move that has taken Brussels by surprise, party politics is being cast aside as MEPs across the political spectrum join forces to fight for greater choice of hot drinks.
The campaign, “Cafe, Quoi d’Autre?”, calls for a much broader range of drinks refreshments to be served during the parliament’s meetings.
The campaign says that at an absolute minimum, there must be fresh orange juice, hot chocolate, herbal tea and warm milk, available at regular intervals.
Several of parliament’s most active committee chairs are demanding more ambitious reforms, which extend to the threat of (in)action if the drinks are not served with bisuits.
“I am in charge of regular 3 hour meetings, about multilingualism in financial regulation policies. Surely I deserve a little square of chocolate on the side?” said German deputy Milken Biskitz.
The campaign has already attracted 700 signatures for an open letter to the parliament president, demanding an overhaul of the current drinks-in-meetings system, which has not changed for over 30 years.
A failure to satisfy the demands may lead to delay of the long-awaited report “2030: A Cardboard-Free Europe”, with potentially serious consequences for the EU’s plans for a low-cardboard economy.
A load of (hob) nobs the lot of ‘em.