THE POLITICO BREXITOMETER: With a week to go to the referendum, undecided voters are making up their minds, pushing Vote Leave to a slight lead ahead of Remain. Some analysts say this shows that anti-immigration fears pushed by the Leave campaign are beating Remain’s economic warnings. LOOK WHO’S HIRING: Despite the very real prospect that Britons will vote next week to leave the EU, the U.K.’s permanent representation in Brussels is hiring! We can’t guarantee that you’ll still be in the job as advertised in two years’ time, but why not take a chance? It’ll certainly be interesting work. The U.K. is slated to hold the EU Council presidency starting in July 2017. Its EU delegation now has a presidency coordinator to kick off the hiring process for “fixed-term” posts, which our sources say is code for presidency work. A U.K. government spokesperson confirmed to Playbook Plus that it’s business as usual in Brussels, saying, “We are planning for our presidency in the normal way.” [The Secretary-General of the European parliament Klaus Welle gives a guest of parliament lecture at Parliament House Canberra 25 May 2011. Welle spoke on the role of the European parliament. EPA/ ALAN PORRITT] The Secretary-General of the European parliament Klaus Welle | EPA/ Alan Porritt WELLE ‘EXCLUSIVE’: Parliament Secretary-General Klaus Welle — known as the “Prince of Darkness” in the institution’s corridors for shunning the limelight while he conducts business from his 12th-floor hemicycle office — has finally opened up! But not surprisingly, it was to a media outlet that he controls: the European Parliament’s “Newshound.” The weekly bills the sit-down as an “exclusive interview,” which includes such hard-hitting questions as who he wants to win the Euro 2016 football finals (don’t say Germany!) and what achievements he is most proud of. We don’t want to give the entire juicy exclusive away, but Welle does reveal how he reorganized the usher service as the times changed from sending letters to email. Trust us, it’s a must-read. BREXIT QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Actress Keira Knightley has released a 30-second video urging Britons to participate in next Thursday’s EU referendum in order to “stop others f—ing with your future.” A LOBBYIST IN REPORTER’S CLOTHES: The Parliament’s co-rapporteurs on the audiovisual media services Directive, Sabine Verheyen and Petra Kammerevert, spent all week insisting against they have no conflict of interest in both regulating and receiving money from German public broadcasters. After that Orwellian experience, a former MEP, Carole Tongue, who is not a journalist, then hijacked the pair’s press conference to thank them for pushing for greater flexibility in the timetable for the directive, reports POLITICO’s Chris Spillane. [U2 Band member Bono | Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images] U2 Band member Bono | Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images BONO — WILL DO WEDDINGS, PARTIES, LOBBYING: The U2 singer has disclosed his lobbying activities in a new Irish transparency register. He still lists “artist” as his main work but declares that he is lobbying to “promote the idea of a world class film studio in Dublin and to foster synergies between the film/creative sector and the tech sector.” Potential new U2 song titles: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Lobbying For,” “Midday, Bloody Midday,” “Stuck in a Meeting You Can’t Get Out Of…” BRUSSELS GETS A GOSSIP GIRL, XOXO: Are you an expat (the high-class term for immigrant) looking for love in Brussels? One enterprising woman is starting an expatdating service. So far it’s a very hands-on Facebook and email operation, so you need to be trusting to sign up. Our ‘Cupido’ asks that you send a short message and a photo to expatdating@outlook.be, explaining who you are and what you’re looking for. Cupido will set you up on a blind date, which will be a drink on Friday, September 2. Only for the brave and patient — Tinder and Grindr this ain’t! BREXIT — THE BRUSSELS PARTY KILLER: It’s the summer party season! But organizers of Brussels summer parties are starting to get desperate as the prospect of Brexit threatens to ruin the A-list’s sunny mood. Cue emails to Playbook and others invoking the spirit of the Euro 2016 championships (we presume friendly fraternity rather than drunken brawls), and the distant prospect of sunny evenings, to avoid empty terraces and gardens. OOPS! GUARDIAN STARTS FACT-CHECKING RANT WITH ERROR: Peter Preston was very angry in the Guardian about what he says are Leave campaign lies that basic fact-checking should disprove. Pity he then complained about the International Fact-Checking Network convention in Buenos Aires in his next sentence: “Why were they sunning themselves in Brazil when we needed them here, urgently, to guide us through a swamp of spin and sleazy mendacity?” Buenos Aires is of course in Argentina. The error, now corrected online, is not annotated with a correction. EUROPE BY THE NUMBERS: 890,000 people acquired an EU nationality in 2014, down from 981,000 in 2013. Still no word on 2015. Europe’s now up to around 508 million citizens. THAT AUTHENTIC THIRD-WORLD FEELING: Development experts gathered in their thousands this week for the 10th annual European Development Days. But organizers made the Wi-Fi situation difficult for everyone involved. “Enabling personal hotspots on Wi-Fi devices is prohibited,” thundered one email to participants. If you dared bring in two Wi-Fi enabled devices you were asked to turn your smartphone into a dumb phone: “Please turn the Wi-Fi connection off during the event.” If nothing else, the organizers succeeded in bringing an authentic Third World feel to the event (though, to be fair, the developing world probably has better internet connections). WHAT’S ON TAP — IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME: Author of the book, “Greek coffee shops,” George Pittas — yup that’s a real name — will visit Parliament on June 28 to hawk his tome and launch a new Greek coffee shop in the Altiero Spinelli Building. [ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images] ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images DOWNWARD FACING DOGS: It’s that time of the year again when Brussels pols — like MEPs Geoffrey Van Orden, Neena Gil and Charles Tannock — rest in “child’s pose” and stretch like “cobras” to celebrate the International Day of Yoga, pictured above. We can’t make promises but on June 21 you may get a session with more breathing than talking at the Yehudi Menuhin Space in the Paul Henri Spaak building. INTERNS RISE UP: In the neverending war on fair pay for interns in the institutions, the European Parliament Stagiaires Association will host a conference on fair internships on June 17 that includes a line-up of Commission officials and MEPs who they will likely be schmoozing for an unpaid internship. WHO’S UP? Bakery Jatta — the Gambian refugee has won a major contract with German football club Hamburg. WHO’S DOWN? Sabine Verheyen and Petra Kammerevert — called out for taking money (for advisory input) from the same broadcasters they regulate.
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