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Friday, February 24, 2012

The Commission takes transparency too far...

In a light-hearted break from the doom and gloom of the eurozone crisis, Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera reports that yesterday EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn had to field a couple of particularly tough questions during his regular midday press briefing.

Were they about the future of Greece? Or the lack of growth in the eurozone? No.

Apparently, earlier this week the Finnish Commissioner held a very confidential meeting with six male reporters from several major European dailies...in the European Commission's sauna! Yes, it has a sauna.

The briefing was supposed to remain secret, but it soon became common knowledge in the crowded press room. A German journalist asked Rehn whether he was planning to extend such "confidential briefings" to female reporters at some point. Clearly embarrassed, Rehn managed to put together an answer,
I've regular contacts with journalists, in various contexts, on and off the record. I take note that there's an interest with regard to these meetings.
Ivo Caizzi, Brussels correspondent for Il Corriere della Sera, went one further, enquiring about the dress code for such meetings. Olli Rehn, his head bent, was left speechless, while his Spanish spokesman promptly said that there was no need to provide further details (not that anyone was desperate to know them!) because everyone is aware of "Finnish customs" when it comes to the use of saunas.

Some things are best kept under wraps Olli...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In Germaan saunas, then Communist East and Repunblic West, and all nowadays, the dress code is liberal: No clothing for female of male sauna-frequenters, even at the same time.

PPNN said...

When it comes to Swedish saunas, public ones that is, it is often frowned upon to go naked and the sexes are usually not mixed. If someone comes naked in to the wrong sauna it is usually a German...

Sorry, we are of course a conform European people nowadays...sorry, won't happen again...

sylvie said...

What a perfect place for a heated discussion! A real hotbed for hotheads!