The European Commission has a stock of 15,500 bottles of wine, valued at €260,000, for entertaining visiting politicians, diplomats and lobbyists. 

This information has been disclosed by Maroš Šefcovic, the commissioner for inter-institutional relations and administration, in response to a question submitted by Martin Ehrenhauser, a member of the European Parliament from Austria.

The Commission’s cellars contain 10,662 bottles of red wine, 1,557 of white wine, 3,347 bottles of sparkling wine and 935 bottles of spirits, according to Šefcovic’s reply.

Not all the stocks are in Brussels. There are also significant stocks in Luxembourg and in Ispra, northern Italy, home to parts of the EU’s Joint Research Centre.

“The Commission purchases wines for the purpose of representation towards third parties such as representatives of states, international organisations or other external stakeholders,” Šefcovic wrote.

European commissioners and Commission directors-general are authorised to use the wines and spirits when hosting dignitaries at “business lunches, state dinners or receptions on the occasion of official visits to the Commission”, he wrote.

Price range

According to the Commission, the most expensive wine bottle in its cellar cost €48.90 to buy and the cheapest cost €2.78. The average value is around €15. This year, the Commission expects to spend around €36,000 on wine purchases and €2,300 on spirits.

Ehrenhauser put a similar question on 11 May to the EU’s Council of Ministers, which has not yet replied. The member states’ permanent representatives to the EU will discuss the Council’s response tomorrow (7 September).

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