Chair of the EU Parliament’s Budgetary Control committee Monika Hohlmeier, who is also a member of the EPP group to which Fine Gael is aligned, has accused the EU’s Green Party group of hypocrisy by failing to combat instances of historical and ongoing harassment of its own membership within the parliament.
The Greens try to hide harassment cases in their own ranks.
Hear what @MHohlmeier had to say today.
We suggest you take a look at who stood up against this amendment. pic.twitter.com/yc1a5snjNM
— EPP Group (@EPPGroup) April 11, 2024
MEP Hohlmeier was referring to allegations recently highlighted by Michael Curzon writing in The European Conservative.
It was reported there that Terry Reintke, the Green group’s co-leader in the European Parliament, has “gone “into hiding” following a wave of serious questions about her and her colleague Philippe Lamberts’ handling of what has been described as “massive MeToo allegations.”
In raising the issue today, MEP Hohlmeier claimed in remarks heavily imbued with sarcasm and irony that:
“The Green Group love to submit motions of high moral value. There must be transparency everywhere. Ethical standards must be raised to truly paradisaical heights of infallibility. Of course the checks must be carried out primarily by green-led NGO’s.”
“The EPP deplore the double standard of the greens European Parliament group constantly calling for stronger official European Parliament’s anti-harassment policies but failing to implement the necessary procedures for such policies within their own group.”
As Michael Curzon further noted, “Green employees have already sent an open letter to their bosses, “noting their refusal to take part in the downplaying of our leadership, which does not do justice to the seriousness of the situation.”
Curzon reports that the letter was signed by 100 current and former employees.
This is not the first time that the Greens have faced allegations of mishandling complaints of serious allegations.
A 2018 investigation by Australian news network ABC revealed that a number of women who complained to the Green party there about sexual misconduct alleged the party had failed them by putting its party reputation ahead of their welfare:
“A long-running ABC investigation has uncovered multiple claims by women that the party mismanaged their complaints about alleged sexual misconduct and harassment.”
Closer to home similar allegations arose here in 2020 when the Irish Examiner reported that “Eamon Ryan’s party has been plagued by allegations of toxicity, sexual harassment, and bullying for months, amid a slew of high-profile resignations.”