At the end of last month, the “Northern light” project was presented by the OIB (the Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels) of the European Commission to the executive agencies concerned by a relocation. Pascal Smet (Vooruit) was also present at this meeting, reports Politico.
However, this move raises eyebrows among the unions of the European civil service. The bad reputation of the district linked to drug trafficking worries them and this decision comes up against significant resistance from the staff.
Faced with this reluctance, Pascal Smet would however have engaged in a real “one man show” during the interview. The latter would have trivialized the concerns raised. The Dutch-speaking socialist is said to have even declared that many European civil servants used drugs themselves: “At Schuman, we also sell drugs but probably whiter than those in the North district”, he allegedly said.
Outraged, the trade union front sent a letter to Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, to denounce these accusations. They demand a public apology from Pascal Smet.
For his part, the politician wanted to defend himself in the columns of Het Laatste Nieuws. According to him, it would be a simple joke: “I responded laconically to a remark that there were dealers on every street corner near the Gare du Nord. It was a joke,” he says. The Secretary of State also claims to share the staff’s concerns, but he believes that this move could actually be beneficial to the district: “European Commission employees can be agents of change”, retorted Pascal Smet.