Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Van Rompuy used official EU cars to drive family to Paris

  • EU official car licence plate (Photo: EUobserver)

European Union Council President Herman Van Rompuy used the EU's official cars to drive himself and nine members of his family from Brussels to Paris as part of their summer holiday, EUobserver has learnt.

During the August break this year, the Belgian former prime minister used the Council's chauffeur-driven official car service to take himself and his wife, his children and two grand-children all the way from the EU capital to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport and back, according to an institutional source.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The president's spokesman, Dirk De Backer, confirmed to this website that the trip took place.

"The president and his family went on holiday via Paris. The transport there was done by protected car," he said.

But Mr De Backer stresses that the use of such official vehicles is normal for such a high-level public figure.

"Let's put this in context: Just because the president goes on holiday does not mean he is no longer the president, requiring the same level of protection," he continued. "Protection is applied all year round."

"This was done as it was required by the security services of the Council to maintain what is called a 'chain of protection'."

"This means that they do not want any luggage sent apart from him and, secondly, that members of the family travel together with him."

"And this does not happen all the time. He is not going on a holiday every day," he continued, adding that this has so far only occurred once, but that such use of official cars will occur again in the future when Mr Van Rompuy holidays with his family. "It happens once a year."

It takes roughly three hours to make the 300-kilometre trip from Brussels to Charles de Gaulle Airport. Mr de Backer did not know the full cost of the excursion, but reckoned it amounted to around €50.

"It's about 500 kilometres from here to there. At 10 litres per hundred kilometres and a euro per litre, that's just €50. You can do the mathematics."

However, this security protocol should raise eyebrows across the road from the Council building. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso would never be allowed to make such use of official cars, according to a commission official.

"There are strict rules for commissioners taking drivers on a mission outside Belgium and on private use of cars. Using chauffeurs and cars for family trips is not permitted," the official told this website.

The European Parliament's rules also do not permit its president, Jerzy Buzek, to use the official cars for such activities.

"The official cars can only be used for the transport link to and from work," said a spokesperson for the European Parliament. "They are definitely not for going shopping or taking your family on holiday or that kind of stuff."

Mr Van Rompuy is also enjoying a privilege that when he was prime minister of Belgium he was denied.

According to Dominique Dehaene, spokesman for the current prime minister, Yves Leterme, Belgian prime ministers are not allowed to use official cars to transport family members on holiday either, "and Mr Leterme surely has never done that."

Finnish PM: Russia preparing for 'long conflict with West'

Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has cautioned about the danger of a Russian attack in coming years. Russia is not "invincible" but "self-satisfaction is no longer an option," Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo said.

EU Commission proposes opening Bosnia accession talks

Eight years on, the EU Commission is to recommend on Tuesday that member states open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country took "impressive steps" to meet the bloc's standards, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us