From private jets to lasers, this bureaucratic giant is finding ways to splash the cash.
And with the European Commission is asking for a 4.9% increase in its budget, it's likely these practices are going to get even more creative over time.
#10 Tiffany's Jewelry
The commission spent €20,000 on gifts for guest speakers including Tiffany jewelry, cuff links, and fountain pens between 2008-2009.
#9 Making models of towns for computer games
The EU spent €85,632 for the Swedish city of Malmo to make a computerized version of itself for a game. The game is reportedly unpopular
#8 Luxury Hotel Suites#7 Private Jets
Barroso's office racked up €249,000 on charges for private jets in just 9 months. During this period, he attended the UN conference on climate change.
#6 Ski Holidays
The EU subsidized an skiing holiday in the Alps for MEPs and their families.
#5 Theological Research
The EU spent €2,000 on a project to define God. The EU supported the EXREL project at Oxford University, which is a three-year initiative that “seeks to understand both what is universal and cross-culturally variant in religious traditions as well as the cognitive mechanisms that undergird religious thinking and behavior”.
4 Blowout Cocktail Parties
€300,000 was spent on cocktail parties, including one blowout €75,000 night in Amsterdam.
#3 Slapstick comedy
The EU spent 23,977 in Serbia on using silent-movie slapstick to promote 'non-verbal communication'.
#2 Doggy Fitness
The EU spent £160,000 on a fitness center for dogs in Hungary. The worst part? It never opened.
#1 Lasers
The EU spent €8,000 for a "Supply of Fast Light Pulser."
The Taxpayers alliance writes, "whether it was for an office disco, or for strapping onto the EU’s Galileo satellite system to be used by a bald man with a white cat, remains less than certain."
