Winning ways at the match

Date: 08/10/1998

Critics who claim that EU officials can be distant and out of touch with the lives of ordinary people should perhaps consider eating their words.

Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler's charity football tournament three weeks ago has put a stop to such carping by raising the impressive sum of 16,000 ecu for La Fontaine, a Brussels charity for homeless children.

Hats off to the burly Austrian, but a black mark to his Commission colleague with responsibility for budgetary affairs Erkki Liikanen. Apparently, the Finnish Commissioner's team distinguished itself more for its foul play than its footballing skills.