City mayor defends expensive open bar

Jensen: within the rules but sends the wrong signal

The mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen, has defended the decision of employees of the City Council to have an open bar at a hotel that ran up a tab of 12,000 kroner, DR Nyheder reports.

The arrangement in question was a seminar for the economic administration of the City Council, at which it was decided to pay for the waiters’ overtime and for an open bar that lasted until 4am the night before a 9am start to the following day’s program.

“The professional and social arrangement taken together keep within the rules there are in this area,” Jensen told DR.

No repeat performance
But Jensen told DR that the episode sent out the wrong signal and that the rules would be tightened to avoid a repeat performance. 

“When you hold a social event, it’s not right that you keep a bar open until four o’clock," he said. "That has been clarified to the bosses in question.”





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