Eurocrats consider strikes if pay rises blocked

Eurocrats and Europe’s governments are heading for a New Year showdown over plans to block a routine pay rise for thousands of highly-paid EU civil servants.

Two days before Christmas, EU ministers voted to halve a planned 3.7% annual increase to 1.85%, insisting that more than 45,000 EU officials should be prepared to tighten their belts and ease pressure on the public purse during the recession – just like their national civil service counterparts.