May 9th, 2005

In 1991 European Commission officials were moved out of their headquarters at the Berlaymont building after high levels of asbestos were found throughout the building. Officials were moved to a temporary headquarters, while workers tried to clear the asbestos and renovate the original headquarters.

However, not only did the work go over budget by a massive amount – tens of millions of euros according to reports – but also the workers were way over schedule. In fact, officials have only recently moved back into the EU famous landmark headquarters in Brussels – a whopping fourteen years after they first moved out.

What officials have gone back to, following the asbestos clean up and renovation, is a big improvement on the original. The refurbishments and renovations have included the installation of two saunas, one of which caters for EU Officials only. Officials were keen to justify the installation of such luxuries, stating that they made Nordic and Finnish officials feel more at home.

An EU spokeswoman insisted: "This is a result of enlargement. Since enlargement, to embrace our Nordic friends, we've had a sauna there, and we are now carrying on with this tradition in the Berlaymont."