Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Oh the irony

The long running saga of the new EU embassy in London has taken a deeply ironical twist. The plans are now for the EU to either buy outright or rent 32 Smith Square, for years the Headquarters of the Conservative Party.

The reason? Because the parliament accepts that

"unless the institutions can find a building where they will be the sole occupant, permission to fly the EU flag or display other forms of externally visible identification will almost certainly not be given".

The reason why the permission will not be forthcoming is that having a huge EU flag outside the building will diminish the possible rental income from any sub letting. The reason given was that their is 'such animosity' in London towards the EU flag as to drive away potential leasees.

The cost of the building is estimated to be either £20 million to purchase outright, or £3.1 million to let per annum. That does not include the estimated £3 million refurbishing costs.

Update

The only other building under serious consideration is 25 Victoria Street, which is currently the office of,

address: Conservatives In The European Parliament
25 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0DL
telephone: 020 72221994
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, if it's true then this is very beautiful, but what is your source for this story?

Gawain Towler said...

Oliver
I have the documents from last nights meeting in my office

Consul-At-Arms said...

Why in the world does the EU require diplomatic representation in a constituent nation?

Doesn't Britain send its representatives to the EU rather than the other way around?

Matt Wardman said...

>Why in the world does the EU require diplomatic representation in a constituent nation?

Marketing office?

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