While Europe burns under record heat, something happened at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels that one official summed up in a single word: „feudalism". On Friday, the air conditioning on the lower floors of the „Berlaymont" building was forcibly switched off to deal with the crisis - while the floors where Ursula von der Leyen and the 26 commissioners sit stayed cool.

Staff received an urgent text message around noon: due to extreme weather conditions, the air conditioning on floors 1 to 7 would be switched off until the end of the day. The building has 13 floors and around 3,000 employees. Those at the top breathed cool air; those below sweated at work in one of the most powerful offices on the continent.

The reactions weren't long in coming. One official told European media the arrangement resembled „feudalism", another called it „shameful". An employee on the eighth floor complained that even with the AC the room reached 25.7 degrees - so even the privileged weren't exactly in paradise, but the difference from the lower floors was obvious. The institution had previously advised staff to avoid the hottest hours, drink water and come in earlier - advice that particularly grates on those in unair-conditioned buildings.

Behind the anecdote stands a bigger picture. Only about a fifth of European households have AC, because for decades buildings were built to retain heat in winter, not to cool in summer. The Balkan citizen knows that reality well - here too, AC is a luxury, not a standard. The image of the top staying cool while the bottom sweats isn't just a Brussels one; it's recognisable everywhere power sits on a higher floor. The only question is who pays the bill when things heat up - literally and figuratively.