Bonum Certa Men Certa

'Party Poopers': Protests Greet Battistelli's Premature Inauguration of an Unfinished Building That Caused Massive Losses

Are protests allowed already? Did they not need to vote for Battistelli's 'permission'?

Nouvel building



Summary: The EPO has just made the farce which was the ceremony (inaugurating a totally unfinished building) seem like another kind of Battistelli 'festival'; not a word was said about protests outside the building

MANAGEMENT of the EPO has said nothing about the latest scandal (ILO-AT overturning Battistelli's union-busting 'judgments') and instead went into full distraction mode with nearly 30 tweets in one day, most of them about the construction site Battistelli went to. As expected, for Battistelli had 'seeded' some money in Dutch publishers/PR, there were some blurbs in Dutch media, e.g. [1, 2, 3], but the party poopers were mentioned also ("Protest at the inauguration ceremony of the new building in Rijswijk"). And upcoming still is SUEPO's party celebrating the exit of Battistelli.

EPO animatedIt's just an EPO construction site (project way behind schedule and excessively over budget), but nevertheless here's the EPO puff piece (warning: epo.org link) with Battistelli photos and quotes all over it, as usual. Eyes on 2020! "With landscaping work to take place after the dismantling of the old tower," they say, "the overall renewal of the site is expected to be completed in 2020."

So they celebrate a couple of years too early, no? With what looks like insulation material in the background, they did some photo ops inside the building as well. It's actually more funny than outrageous, especially the poor preparation. What was the budget for this? A secret? They post lots of 'supporting tweets' as though it's a "live event" people all around the world tune in to watch. It's a construction site and it actually still looks like it. The EPO's PR people are mostly quoting Battistelli, their 'king Battistelli' (the PR people are like his jesters, adoring every word that comes out of his mouth). Here are some examples [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] with laughable things he says, such as: "Quality is our absolute priority."

Here's another one about "high quality".

What's of "high quality"? The patents? The building? Or neither?

He just keeps repeating the lies -- the very hallmark of the Battistelli era. Christoph Ernst was there as well and was quoted [1, 2, 3] like a "second fiddle" of the person whom he was supposed to boss. What a coward he is!

Architect Diederik Dam is also mentioned [1, 2, 3] before the closing words [1, 2, 3]. Mind that last one, showing the building in the dark (no kidding!) to hide the cranes and the total lack of finish.

What a disaster of a thing! Yet nobody present wants to insult the naked emperor by saying so.

The EPO has not said anything about the protest or about ILO. This too is a hallmark of Battistelli's regime: information lockdown/lockout.

Last but not least they say: "His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands @koninklijkhuis has signed the golden book of the EPO. This marks the official opening of the new EPO building in the Netherlands."

He and Battistelli had argued over whose name goes in there just like a couple of spoiled brats. It should be noted that the ceremony was held in a construction site, yet nobody wore a helmet. Well, safety was never first at the EPO; it was always "Battistelli First".

Recent Techrights' Posts

The Better the Understanding or the More Nations Understand the Threat Posed by Microsoft, the Faster It'll be Eradicated
We believe that the thing to advocate is self-hosting and Free software... A lack of simplicity or absence of alternatives is a form of vendor lock-in
A Week of Sunlight
They say transparency is like sunlight to a vampire
"Linux" Sites That Went Astray
there are even worse things than shutdowns
Links 16/06/2025: Climate, Wildfires, Breaches, and Monopolies
Links for the day
Links 16/06/2025: Summer in Finland and Misunderstandings
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 15, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 15, 2025
Gemini Links 15/06/2025: Rainy Season and OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Links for the day
Links 15/06/2025: Military Games, Parade, and Actions
Links for the day
Links 15/06/2025: Windows TCO, Openwashing, and Wars
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/06/2025: "AI Fatigue and Crappiness"
Links for the day
When Abusive Law Firms (Working for Microsofters Against Us) Assert That Someone Writing in Social Media About Himself is Confidential Information
There was no reason to throw "GDPR" into 2 SLAPPs; they know it, but the goal was to increase the cost of a Defence and lessen the incentive to challenge the SLAPPs
Microsoft Attack Dogs Against Watchdogs and Guard Dogs in Software
Last year Microsofters hired attack dogs or "guns for hire"
Slop Cannot Replace Domain Expertise
All this "AI" hype (it's not even intelligence, it's all a misnomer, as many of us have insisted all along) will fizzle and be written off as a failed experiment
IBM's Fresh 'PIPs' (Action Before Layoffs)
At times like these, even once-reputable employers resort to PIPs and other procedures/tricks for denial of workers' rights
Microsoft is a Problem Not Just for Denmark
Every country should consider what Denmark is doing, why Denmark is doing it, and then do the same
The Slopfarms' Self Detonation
If more sites like BetaNews go under, then maybe we can still salvage some of the Web
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 14, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, June 14, 2025
Links 14/06/2025: FDA Changes Priorities, Cassette Data Storage From The 1970s
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/06/2025: Steam Next Fest and Thoughts on Gemini
Links for the day
Site/Datacentre Maintenance Next Week
speed things up
Bulgaria: GNU/Linux Near 10%
The Bulgarian market seems to be changing
I Never Spoke to BetaNews. But BetaNews Wants to Ensure I Never Will, Either.
Sometimes just the reluctance to talk about it can say a great deal
Throwing Money at Lawyers Can't Stop Us (It Never Did)
Even just trying to censor things can result in the opposite of the desired outcome
Online Search or Large Search Engines Aren't Working Anymore
business models that directly compete with interests of Web users
Holidays and Breaks
I've hardly taken any long breaks since I got married
Danish OpenDocument Freedom
"year of Linux"
Links 14/06/2025: Wars and L.A. Distortion Effect
Links for the day
BetaNews Has More or Less Died After Experiments With LLM Slop, Is Linuxsecurity Next?
It doesn't seem like BetaNews knows what it's doing, let alone what it talks about
Gemini Links 14/06/2025: Historic Ada Design and GeminiSpace.Club to Expire
Links for the day
Links 14/06/2025: India Plane Crash and Middle-Eastern War
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 13, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, June 13, 2025