Ruling Class: Euro edition

The Europeans, you see, are not so different from us.

While imposing austerity to the point of riots on the little people, here is how Europe’s Ruling Class lives.

From tomorrow’s Telegraph (and no, I won’t tell you the race results or the stock prices):

THE European Commission has spent more than £8 million on private jet travel, holiday resorts and cocktail parties, an investigation has found.

Commissioners travelled in limousines, stayed in five-star hotels and bought gifts including Tiffany jewellery as their governments faced savage budget cuts and rising EU taxes.

An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism into spending by the EU executive has shown that more than €7.5 million (£6.6 million) was used on private jet travel for commissioners between 2006 and last year.

Commissioners stayed at resorts in locations as far-flung as Papua New Guinea, Ghana and Vietnam and spent €300,000 on cocktail parties, including an event in Amsterdam costing €75,000 which was described as “a night filled with wonder like no other”.

The Commission spent thousands hiring orchestras to play at parties, while guest speakers at its events were presented with expensive gifts, including cufflinks, fountain pens and jewellery.

A further £118,000 was paid for limousines to chauffeur commissioners between official engagements.

Conservative ministers and MEPs said the commission was acting “like a medieval monarchy”, days after it demanded a budget increase of 4.9 per cent which would cost Britons £3 billion a year.

HT: JF

Read more at W.C. Varones