Like many people, I’ve noticed that EU Brussels is very white. Of the 230+ EU Commissioners since the beginning of the EU, only one has been any other colour than white. Less than 20 of the current 705 MEPs are not white. There has never been a black director general of any Commission department. There have been only two openly gay Commissioners. There are very few disabled people working in any of the EU institutions.

The European Commission does not share data on ethnicity of its staff: ‘Collecting quantitative data about the ethnic origin of staff is a very sensitive matter, and opinions as to whether collecting such data is appropriate vary considerably across the EU.’ said a spokesman.

This is not to say that there is rampant racism or discrimination in EU Brussels, but simply that people of colour are underrepresented in senior and mid-level positions. As The Guardian wrote: ‘…in the maze of corridors and meeting rooms of Brussels, people with a minority ethnic background are more likely to be guarding the doors and serving coffee than debating the laws and chairing meetings.’