Brussels is a lobbyists’ paradise. I am told there are close to
30,000 living around the European institutions and other entities. One can
imagine how many invitations for lunch and dinner the big shots in the EU
Commission, Council, Parliament, and elsewhere get every week…One should also
imagine the flow of gifts and favours that is taking place on a daily basis…
It is also a spies’ heaven. Nobody knows exactly how many
they are. The head of the Belgian secret service talks about many hundreds but
who knows? In any case, their presence means plenty of lunch and dinner
invitations too. That’s the most classical way of getting information.
It is also said the city houses the largest press corps in
the world. It is true that the number of journos has decreased during the last few years,
because of the crisis and its impact on the resources made available to the
media. But it is still a large number, close to a thousand people accredited with
the EU alone. That is also a lot of invitations for a good meal…At least, as
far as the largest papers and TV stations are concerned, because the scribblers
from smaller outfits are more interested in being invited that anything else.
They are always looking for a free meal…
Taking all this into account, maybe I should envisage
opening a classy restaurant in the international district of Brussels. I am
sure it is good business…
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