Future is bleak for Brussels employees after Brexit

It seemed a cruel irony. As the sun shone down on the European Commission on Friday morning after hours of torrential rain the previous night, the EU quarter in Brussels had never looked so fresh and sparkling. But around the streets and corridors of the European Union institutions the mood was of shocked disbelief.

At midday, a packed press room awaited the arrival of European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. Hundreds of journalists crowded into the room.

The atmosphere was highly charged among journalists and EU workers. The unthinkable had happened. The community of 28 was becoming 27. One British official in his 30s was crying.

Influence disappears

For the 1,200 British officials working in the European Commission and the thousands more employed in the other EU institutions as translators, lawyers and policy experts, the future is bleak. EU law states that only EU citizens can work for the institutions. Even those who remain believe their chance of promotion is negligible as British influence disappears.

One outcome of the British exit is that Ireland, along with Malta, will be the only country where English is an official language. Perhaps Irish officials will now be in greater demand.

Just a few hours earlier, dozens of British ex-pats had packed into the bars near the European Commission to watch the first counts. Some of Britain’s most senior officials shared a drink with colleagues and friends. The atmosphere was convivial, even blasé, as predictions of a Remain vote took hold.

But as the results began to filter through in the early hours and the bars around Schumann emptied out, a new reality was dawning. Life in the Brussels bubble would never be the same.