Charlemagne: Too many cooks

摘要

As a rule in the European Union, the grandeur of somebody's office is inversely related to the sexiness of their work. This is especially true in foreign policy. In Brussels the dingy Justus Lip-sius building hosts officials who negotiate with Iran and send peacekeepers to the Balkans. This is the base of the Council of the European Union, a small Brussels secretariat for the eu's 27 national governments. It is a maze of low-ceilinged corridors and linoleum floors, in shades of magenta, brown and nicotine yellow. Without its impressively fortified filing cabinets (for holding sexi-ly secret files), it might be a railways ministry.