McCreevy works his charm in EU Parliament

THE MEPs from Europe’s 25 nations were charmed by the home-spun philosophy, the jokes against himself and being referred to by name during Charlie McCreevy’s three hour interrogation in the European Parliament yesterday.

They quickly picked up on the relaxed, jovial good mood created by this seasoned political performer and let him away with lots of evasive answers and listened attentively to accountant-talk detail.

He moved effortlessly from telling them how he will always remember his 54th birthday was a Tuesday - it was the day he told the Taoiseach he wanted the job in Brussels - to discussing financial accounting standards.