EU spends £2 mn a year on Barbados office
31 July 2012 3:36 PM IST
Amid a global economic downturn and financial crunch being faced by some of its members, the European Union (EU) has spent millions of pounds of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money on an outpost on the Caribbean island of Barbados.
According to Daily Express, the ‘pointless’ headquarters on the costly west coast employs 39 staff and costs an amazing £2 million ($3 million) a year to run.
Officials, when not enjoying the sun-kissed beaches, spend their days dishing out £230 million pounds of funding for projects, which include retraining banana growers. The offices on the island, 4,400 miles from Brussels, have breathtaking views of the white sandy beaches and the sea. Apartments with balconies overlooking the beach have reportedly been rented out to two senior EU officials, the report said. There is also a swimming pool for residents and there are well-kept ¬gardens.
The offices, just outside the capital city of Bridgetown, have been decked out with the EU logo.
From there, staff decide how to hand out cash for projects in 10 Caribbean countries – Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla, Monserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada and Dominica. Admitting the office cost £2 million a year, an EU spokesperson said the headquarter was set up on the west coast because it was close to the island’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British High Commission.
According to Daily Express, the ‘pointless’ headquarters on the costly west coast employs 39 staff and costs an amazing £2 million ($3 million) a year to run.
Officials, when not enjoying the sun-kissed beaches, spend their days dishing out £230 million pounds of funding for projects, which include retraining banana growers. The offices on the island, 4,400 miles from Brussels, have breathtaking views of the white sandy beaches and the sea. Apartments with balconies overlooking the beach have reportedly been rented out to two senior EU officials, the report said. There is also a swimming pool for residents and there are well-kept ¬gardens.
The offices, just outside the capital city of Bridgetown, have been decked out with the EU logo.
From there, staff decide how to hand out cash for projects in 10 Caribbean countries – Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla, Monserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada and Dominica. Admitting the office cost £2 million a year, an EU spokesperson said the headquarter was set up on the west coast because it was close to the island’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British High Commission.
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