Brussels bureaucrats have been asked to leave their desks and serve as interns in companies across the European Union, in an unusual attempt by the European Commission to give its officials a better understanding of business.

The plan by Günter Verheugen, the EU enterprise commissioner, will see 50 senior officials from his department join companies for a limited period of time, probably one week. The commissioner is especially keen for his staff to gain first-hand knowledge of life inside small and medium-sized companies.