Maastricht left in Limburg

Date: 22/05/1997

Hoteliers in Maastricht are queueing up for compensation because they cleared tourist rooms as requested in readiness for tomorrow's (23 May) EU mini-summit, only to find that the gathering would take place in Noordwijk instead.

They are more than a little miffed at being left in the lurch, as too are the Maastricht city burghers themselves.

They were confident of bagging their third summit and only lost out because of Anglo-French cold feet about the symbolism of returning to the scene of the last big federalist push.

The change of mind came after the MECC building, the Netherlands' biggest and best-equipped conference centre, had been booked, the security arranged and hotel reservations cancelled to make way for the Euro-influx.

Not only that, but the provincial Limburg government had shelled out 18,000 ecu for a new 15-metre diameter conference table to impress EU leaders.

So is officialdom joining the hoteliers in demanding a refund? No. The table was used for the intergovernmental talks last week and will soon be made available for a few high-paying private conferences.

“Local taxpayers shouldn't worry: people who want to use the table will have to pay for it. Within ten years, we will have recouped the cost,” explained one official.