Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe BRUSSELS, March 26 (UPI) -- The president of the European Council told colleagues during a dinner in Belgium they would have to leave the room to smoke. Dirk De Backer, a spokesman for President Herman Van Rompuy, said the leader announced at the start of the Thursday meal at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels that those in attendance would have to exit the room if they wished to smoke cigarettes -- the first time such a request has been made, the EUobserver reported Friday. Advertisement "The president made a little joke about it, saying that leaders' work needs to be done well and asked for smoking breaks instead," he said. "He asked the idea to be kept in mind, it's not a rule, more a gentleman's agreement." The Justus Lipsius building has traditionally been a non-smoking facility but leaders have been allowed to smoke during dinner events. Leaders including Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker stepped out of the room during Thursday's dinner to smoke their cigarettes following the announcement.
