Great location, but no siesta in Vigo

The new Community Fisheries Control Agency is in the best traditions of EU agencies. It has a great location and lousy transport links back to the mother-ship in Brussels. Officially opened last week (19 July), the agency occupies a commanding position in Vigo, the major fisheries centre on Spain's Galician coast. Its officials can gaze out across the blue waters of the Riá de Vigo as they plot how to save European fish from destruction. But with no direct flights to Brussels, a trip to the agency takes the best part of a day, via Porto, Barcelona or Madrid. The agency is hopeful that Brussels Airlines will start flying there in the autumn, but whether the airline sees an enticing business case for putting on a shuttle service for barely 40 people is another matter. A spokesman for the airline would say only that the idea was being considered. The agency staff do not even get to enjoy the fabled Spanish tradition of a lengthy lunch followed by a siesta. Harm Koster, the Dutch boss, has decided that a one-hour break is plenty.