Once again, an all-too-candid video camera has caused political turmoil in the EU. An Austrian Socialist member of the European Parliament, Hans-Peter Martin, claims to have shot over 1,500 hours of footage of his fellow delegates abusing (people, whatever you do, don't call it torturing) their extremely generous expense allowances--and worse, talking frankly about it among themselves.
According to this Times report, perks can easily add EU150,000 to their salaries (which widely vary and are set by each member state). The grainy videos have begun airing on German television. They have "awkward camera angles ó midsections, double chins and ceiling shots are common ó but Mr. Martin gets people to talk." Now, of course, many of his colleagues won't shut up about his self-serving pursuit of publicity.
It seems like it was just a year ago when The Road To Europe, which followed the publicity-loving Danish prime minister and caught other EU delegates making candid, inflammatory comments. Check out my interview with TRTE director Christofer Guldbransen for more details.
