That unpronounceable Icelandic volcano has been at it again, and its unpredictable antics are posing potential logistical challenges for the European Economic and Social Committee. Later this week, from Thursday through to Saturday, the Committee is holding a major conference in Florence on the theme of education to combat social exclusion. The Committee is pulling out all the stops for this keynote event, a culmination of Mario Sepi’s Presidency, which will see Mario Monti and José Manuel Barroso address the closing session on Saturday morning. The potential logistical challenge would arise if flights out of Zaventem are stopped on Wednesday, which is when many members of the administrative team and quite a few of our members are planning to fly down to Florence. The probable solution we have found is to hire a bus. It will involve an eighteen hour (at least) trip, but it’s clearly the cheapest alternative. All the same, fingers crossed for a change of wind direction!