Real cost of recycling

Date: 08/05/1997

A shocking tale of Commission financial waste and incompetence has been drawn to the attention of Entre Nous - so shocking it would make the EU's financial watchdog howl in pain, if not derision.

It concerns an envelope stuffed with Belgian banknotes donated by colleagues as a going away present for Finnish spokesman Timo Pesonen.

As the envelope was passed around in the search for more cash contributions, it landed in another spokesman's office, where it was scooped up and thrown away in a pile of recycled paper.

But Pesonen, who has until now been the voice of Budget Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, will not be returning to Helsinki empty-handed.

Sources tell Entre Nous that embarrassment over the binned gift forced fonctionnaires to dig even deeper into their pockets for the second time of asking.

And what of the oh-so-tidy clear-up merchant who threw away the original loot? He is apparently Pesonen non grata.