Cocktail parties, private jets and Tiffany jewellery on £7m EU taxpayer-funded gravy train

European chiefs have landed taxpayers with a ‘grotesque’ expenses bill running into millions of pounds that highlights once again the culture of excess in Brussels.
Private jets, luxury hotels, cocktail parties and even Tiffany jewellery were among the items claimed. MPs last night called for an inquiry following the release of astonishing details of commissioners’ lavish lifestyles.
In one case Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, ran up a £24,600 hotel bill during a luxury four-day stay in New York.
The figures reveal that the EU’s 27 commissioners clocked up a £6.6million bill for hiring private jets in the four years to 2010.
With extra expenses, the bill for their high life comes to £6.99million – but the sum is likely to be far higher.
The figures, extracted from official releases and answers to Parliamentary questions, provide a snapshot of the culture of excess – but sources say they represent only the ‘tip of the iceberg’. The full extent is unlikely ever to be revealed as the figures are not routinely released.
Britain’s commissioners during the period were Peter Mandelson and Baroness Ashton. In 2009 alone, the Commission billed taxpayers £265,000 for cocktail parties.
Events included a £11,638 bill for a cocktail party for TV weathermen from across Europe, and two cocktail parties to celebrate Europe Day, at a total cost of £9,597.
The Commission also ran up a £66,000 bill for a ‘science’ event in Amsterdam which boasted a ‘night filled with wonder like no other… state-of-the-art technology, challenging art, combined with trendy cocktails, surprising performances and top DJs’.
Further figures reveal it spent £17,741 over three years on luxury jewellery for VIPs who agreed to appear at EU events. Figures included spending at the renowned jewellers Tiffany.
The Commission is bidding for a five per cent increase in its £117 billion-a-year budget.
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