Martin Ehrenhauser

The European Parliament was legitimately proud of its interim success in hindering the ratification of the SWIFT agreement on the transfer of bank data. But the image of the EU institution as a patron of personal data protection changes when it comes to the personal data rights of MEPs’ assistants. According to a procedure which has been in force for a half a year now, the EP administration expects the assistants to answer quite intimate questions. “Have you ever had haemorrhoids?”, “Has one of your family members had a mental disease?”, “Have you ever seen a neurologist, a psychiatrist or a therapist?”, “If yes, please indicate his/her name and address.” The EP medical service even demands: “Please indicate the date of your last menstruation”. This questionnaire is part of the new recruitment procedure of the European Parliament.

On the initiative of Adeline Otto, assistant of the left-wing MEP Cornelia Ernst, several assistants, among them my head of staff Florian Schweitzer, are boycotting this questionnaire. The EP administration has given the boycotters an ultimatum. “If we do not receive any response from these people by the end of the month, we will pass on the list of names to the legal department,” threatens Eliane de Bruyne, an employee of the medical service. “In that case the assistants have to bear the consequences.” The EP administration justifies its approach with reasons related to health insurance. In the future the administration wants to collect information every twelve months on sexually transmitted diseases and drinking habits and save it for 30 years. In addition also annual blood and urine tests are also planned.

This is going too far. Today I emphasized to the EP-authorities once again, that I will not allow my assistant to complete this questionnaire. Therefore I suggest the following counterproposal: my assistant should consult a doctor he trusts who confirms that his state of health meets the requirements of his professional function. To complete the questionnaire incorrectly as a sign of protest does not offer a solution either. After the assistant of the Liberal MEP Alexander Alvaro had answered the question “Have you ever been in a tropical country?” with “No”, she received a phone call from a doctor from the medical service. “She said, I know that you have been in Kenya with your boss,” quoted Alvaro’s assistant. “Therefore I had to change my statement.”