Georges Dassis - a man of hidden talents

This afternoon two coaches left the Jacques Delors building for Borzée, in the heart of the Belgian Ardennes, where the EESC’s Group II (employees) was holding a special meeting to debate the economic and social situation from the trades unionists’ point of view. In the coaches were Group II’s members and a number of guests, including me. The Nature Centre at Borzée was built by a Belgian labour organisation, the CGSP, in the early 1970s, to provide less well-off members with decent holiday. It has now been recycled as a nature centre but the original infrastructure is still there. So we stayed in simple rooms, but with everything that we needed and great views out over the Ardennes scenery. In the evening we were treated to a completely unexpected surprise. We discovered that the President of Group II, Georges Dassis, is an accomplished bouzouki player. Accompanied by an Italian member, Beppe Iuliano, and a Belgian member of the Group secretariat, Denis Liegeois, we were entertained until late with singing and playing. Italian and Greek songs in the heart of the Belgian Ardennes; that’s Europe!