EU official spared harassment fine as pension too small to dock
A EUROPEAN UNION official sexually harassed a colleague but was let off as his Brussels pension was too small to dock without making him go hungry.
The disciplinary case was one of dozens opened for a string of offences committed by badly behaved Eurocrats last year, according to an internal report obtained by The Telegraph.
They include officials who forged payslips and medical records, failed to adhere to coronavirus rules and abused colleagues. The Investigatory and Disciplinary Office of the Commission (IDOC) investigated 101 new cases last year, resulting in two dismissals.
A quarter of probes (25) launched by EU investigators related to sexual or psychological harassment claims.
In one case, a now retired official was found to have “sexually harassed a colleague by creating an intimidating and disturbing environment during a conversation”. The unnamed man was let off because docking his pension would take it below the bloc’s minimum subsistence levels. According to EU rules, the minimum pension cannot be less than 40 per cent of the basic salary for the lowest level of official – €3,327 (£2,850) for someone with at least 10 years of service.
In a similar example, a team leader was only warned after he had shown a “hegemonic attitude in the coordination of teamwork, which put his colleagues in a lasting state of unease”.
The IDOC report added: “He also verbally abused a female colleague, belittled her during meetings and contradicted and criticised her in public in an inappropriate manner by using an aggressive and rude tone.”
Another investigation into a temporary contracting agent found the man had used European Commission (EC) databases to obtain private contact details of colleagues and sent them “repeated, insisting and sometimes offending and threatening messages”.
Despite the highest paid EU civil servants earning almost €19,000 a month, there were still numerous officials found guilty of fraud.
In one case, an unnamed official was found guilty of forging seven payslips that were submitted to a national court in a divorce hearing “in order to reduce the monthly contribution he should pay to his ex-spouse for their child”.
Despite the report stating he caused “reputational damage” to the commission, he escaped punishment because of “extenuating circumstances” and his “excellent working performance”.
Another official was found to have lied about his marital status for more than 10 years to claim household allowances that he was no longer entitled to. The unnamed official was demoted by one pay grade for six months – a monthly pay cut of about €1,000.
Frank Furedi, the executive director of the MCC Brussels think tank, who helped uncover the report, said: “The incidents referred to only represent the tip of the iceberg.”