Exposed: EU chief's private jet, plush hotel and cocktail bill

[Lars77]

Source: The Guardian

The office of José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commission, racked up a €249,000 bill for private jets during the same period he attended the 2009 UN convention on climate change.

Barroso's jet bill for the nine-month period is just a small part of €7.5m worth of trips on private jets chartered by EU commissioners over the last five years, uncovered in research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

The commission declined to comment on the specifics of the spending on private jets, other than to confirm €249,000 was a private jet spend for 2009 for the president's office, but refused to say whether he took such a jet – which releases around 55 tonnes of carbon dioxide each transatlantic flight – to the convention itself.

The bureau found that Barroso and 35 others spent €28,000 at the luxury Peninsula New York hotel during the visit to the UN climate change convention. This figure was confirmed by the commission.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/01/jose-manuel-barroso-expenses-european-union

[cosmicone]

1. Totally unfair

This is a hit piece by anti-EU forces.

European Union doesn't own any jets, so people have to travel commercial or charter. Technically, he is equivalent to the head of state, a state bigger than the USA.

Cost of AirForce 1 for just one of Obama's trips to California exceed €249,000. Add to that the VP's trips, Robert Gates' trips and Hillary Clinton's trips and the tab will be several hundred times the €7.5m spent over FIVE years.

I'd even venture to say that those costs are really insignificant and economical.

[trud]

2. He has to take a private jet? instead of business class?

Who's even heard of him. Size doesn't matter.

[Citizen Worker]

3. Please, you don't expect the world's elite to travel with us commoners do you?

[LanternWaste]

4. No more than I'd expect Pres Obama to take a Greyhound.

No more than I'd expect Pres. Obama to take a Greyhound from DC to Pittsburgh. :shrug: