The European Parliament should be setting the gold standard in ensuring the wellbeing of its staff.
The European Parliament is an EU institution, functioning not only as a co-legislator and budgetary authority but also as an employer of more than 10,000 individuals. In its capacity as an employer, the parliament has the duty to ensure the wellbeing and safety of its employees, including those directly serving its elected members.
Unfortunately, instances of harassment involving accredited parliamentary assistants (APAs) working for members are not uncommon. The surge in reported cases during this legislative term underlines the pressing need for stringent measures to prevent such misconduct.
Mandatory training
Ensuring a safe working environment and prioritising preventive measures are paramount to foster a culture of respect and dignity within the European Parliament. Prevention is the cornerstone of our commitment to safeguarding the wellbeing of all employees, as it enables us to address issues proactively, before they escalate.
Recognising this need, in January 2023 the president of the parliament, Roberta Metsola, tasked its quaestors—entrusted with overseeing administrative and financial matters concerning members—with formulating proposals to strengthen anti-harassment policies.
Building on the recommendations they presented, the bureau of the parliament—the president, 14 vice-presidents and 3 quaestors in an advisory capacity—decided last July to implement mandatory training sessions for members, focusing on the prevention of conflict and harassment in the workplace, as well as effective office management.
Mandatory training, which the parliament called for in a resolution on ‘MeToo and harassment’ in December 2021, not only mitigates the risk of harassment but also cultivates workplace ethics where every individual feels valued and protected. In this legislative term 319 members (45 per cent) have participated in such training events.
The president charged the working group on the parliament’s rules of procedure with the responsibility to translate the political decision by the bureau into a concrete rule for members. After months of deliberation and negotiation, the working group reached a consensus among its representatives of different political groups on enhancing the parliament’s rules on harassment.
The group agreed that training on preventing conflict and harassment in the workplace and on good office management would become mandatory for all members of the parliament within the first six months of the member’s term of office. Failure to comply would empower the conference of presidents—the president of the parliament and those of the vaious political groups—to initiate a vote on the removal of an elected officeholder during a plenary session. Concretely, this could mean loss of office for a member elected as president, vice-president, quaestor, committee chair or vice-chair or chair or vice-chair of an interparliamentary delegation.
Delaying tactics
Despite the bureau’s mandate and the consensus reached within the working group, conservative and far-right political groups vehemently oppose the mandatory nature of this training. The European People’s Party (EPP), in particular, has resorted to delaying tactics, prolonging negotiations within the parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and casting doubt on the need for this report.
On procedural pretexts, the EPP has blocked the report—with its key provision of mandatory harassment training for MEPs within their first six months—being voted on in the AFCO meeting tomorrow (I act as rapporteur on this). The collaboration between the EPP and far-right groups in obstructing this initiative is alarming. AFCO now faces a crucial decision as to whether to proceed with the report.
Against this backdrop, it is disconcerting that 14 female EPP members recently launched an open letter to the co-chairs of the Greens group on the resignation of a Green member after allegations of harassment became public. Notably, one signatory herself faced allegations of misconduct towards her APAs. EPP women should be joining forces with others for better preventive action and to encourage the EPP to vote in favour of mandatory harassment training for all members.
Gold standard
As a public institution as well as an employer, the European Parliament must set the gold standard in combating harassment in the workplace. Strong regulations and sanctions must be in place to sustain zero tolerance towards inappropriate behaviour. Mandatory training reinforces our commitment to a workplace where the dignity of all individuals is respected and protected. It is imperative that we continue to prioritise prevention to safeguard the rights and dignity of all who serve within the parliament.
In 2019, the International Labour Organization adopted the Violence and Harassment Convention, the first international treaty to recognise everyone’s right to work free from violence and harassment. Convention 190 requires countries to adopt appropriate measures to prevent harassment and to foster a healthy, safe working environment.
Last Tuesday, the parliament in plenary gave its consent to a Council of the EU invitation to member states to ratify the ILO convention—with an overwhelming majority of 517 votes for and only 59 against. In this spirit, the parliament has the opportunity to show it is also ready to take steps to prevent harassment of its own staff.
Gaby Bischoff is a member of the European Parliament from Germany, a vice-president of the Socialists and Democrats group and a vice-chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO).