Last week, we noted how, as the Washington Post reports, “Millions of people are sweltering under Europe’s worst heat wave ever recorded.”

Why? In part because their governments actively discourage air conditioning – one of the greatest inventions ever – as a wasteful, “antisocial” technology. The result is an uptick in deaths, closed schools, canceled trains and overloaded hospitals. That sounds pretty “anti-social” to us.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, the capital of the regulatory behemoth of the European Union, there is also a thick layer of hypocrisy smog. The Berlaymont, the EU’s massive headquarters, is air conditioned, but last week the lower floors had the cooling system turned off because it was under too much strain in the 97 degree heat.

Most of the 3,000 staffers in the building were left to swelter while high-ranking officials, including European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen, continued to enjoy cool air in their upper-floor offices. Suffering lower-floor staffers were advised to try “avoiding going outside at the hottest times of day, drinking water regularly and starting work earlier.”

The EU loves to style itself as a symbol of Europe’s quest for equality and fraternity, but “Airgate” has proven it’s just another bastion of elitism where the overlords decide what is best for the masses, while they enjoy the privileges.