The EU Commission shut off its air conditioning in most of its headquarters apart from Ursula von der Leyen’s office, it has been revealed.
The European Commission’s headquarters in Brussels was forced to shut down its air-conditioning system yesterday as Europe continued to swelter under a record-breaking heatwave.
Staff working in the Berlaymont building received an urgent text message at midday reading: “BERL — URGENT — Due to extreme weather conditions, forced shut down of air cooling system from floor 1 to 7 for the rest of the day”.
The 13-storey building is home to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, her 26 commissioners and around 3,000 members of staff.
Her office is situated on the 13th floor and most commissioners are housed on floors eight and above.
The shutdown only affected floors one to seven, meaning the upper floors where commissioners work retained their cooling systems, Politico reports.
A situation which drew immediate anger from lower-level staff, it is understood.
One Commission official working on a lower floor of the Berlaymont told Politico the situation was “like feudalism” while a second described it as “a disgrace”.
A third staffer working on the eighth floor, where air-conditioning remained operational, said the temperature inside was still reaching 25.7 degrees even with the system running.
The Commission had issued guidance to staff earlier in the week advising them to avoid going outside during the hottest parts of the day, drink water regularly and start work earlier.
However, the advice provoked further frustration among staff working in Commission buildings without any air-conditioning at all, including those in the agriculture directorate.
Only around one-fifth of households on the continent are equipped with air-conditioning.
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In Belgium, one-fifth of all trains operate without cooling, prompting the national rail operator to cancel numerous peak-hour services during the heatwave.
The European Parliament has also experienced power blackouts this week caused by the surge in energy consumption from its own cooling systems being run at full capacity.
The extreme conditions are being driven by a weather phenomenon known as an Omega block.
Named after its resemblance to the Greek letter, it traps heat over regions for extended periods while pushing temperatures as much as 18C above normal.
The heatwave has also crossed the Channel, with the UK recording its hottest June day on Friday.
A provisional temperature of 37.3C was recorded in Santon Downham, Suffolk, surpassing the high of 36.4C set on Thursday in Yeovilton, Somerset.
The temperature broke the previous June record set in 1976.
Red heat alerts were issued across much of central and southern England and Wales.
More than 1,000 schools in England have closed and widespread train cancellations have prompted passengers to avoid non-essential travel.
The Met Office has extended its amber extreme heat warning into Sunday as the record-breaking heatwave begins to ease across the UK.
The forecaster said the extension was necessary “to cater for the final hot and humid night of the departing heatwave”, with the alert covering London and South East England, the East of England and parts of the East Midlands.
The warning will remain in place until 9am on Sunday morning.
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