Update*: Two months after this article was published, Kanko was cleared of wrongdoing following an internal European Parliament probe.
Former employees of Belgian MEP Assita Kanko (N-VA) have issued a scathing condemnation of their erstwhile boss, with one person claiming that the conservative politician "treated her employees like vassals".
The revelations follow a report published by Politico on Thursday, which disclosed that the European Parliament has opened a formal investigation into allegations of harassment by Kanko against her parliamentary assistants.
"The weeks in Strasbourg were real hell," one former staff member told Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN). "We received requests outside of our working hours, sometimes at midnight. Whilst colleagues went to have a bite to eat or a drink together, we had to stay at the office."
"The problem is that Assita Kanko has a completely wrong idea of what a 'personal assistant' is," added another Kanko associate. "She treated her employees like her vassals: they had to carry out 'special' missions for her. Her employees had to go to the dry cleaners, be her driver or carry her handbag, for example."
Elected as a MEP in 2019, Kanko is one of six Vice-Chairs of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) parliamentary group. She is a vocal critic of irregular immigration and "wokeism", as well as a strong supporter of women's rights.
'She drove us all mad'
The remarks reported by HLN closely corroborate comments by former staff members published by Politico on Thursday. "She makes you believe that you are the one who did something wrong or said something wrong, even when you have evidence of the contrary," one former employee said.
"[Things] always had to be done immediately, so you left your friends and family to handle her request," the same staff member added. "The day after, she had changed her mind to go back to the initial plan. This happened constantly and drove us all mad."
In a statement posted on Twitter on Thursday, Kanko wrote that "[o]ut of respect for the procedure, the commission implementing it and the European Parliament, and out of respect for the privacy of all parties, I... cannot and will not comment in the press as long as this procedure is ongoing."
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However, Kanko noted that a "parallel complaint" lodged by a former employee against her was "completely dismissed" by the European Parliament on 17 May. She added that she had "confidence" that the current investigation would yield "a correct outcome".
The case against Kanko arguably adds yet another blemish to Belgian MEPs' already profoundly tarnished reputation. Marc Tarabella is currently under investigation on suspicion of accepting bribes of up to €140,000 to support pro-Qatari policies. Earlier this year Maria Arena also resigned from her position as Chair of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights after failing to declare that a trip to Doha had been paid for by the Qatari Government.
*In an email sent to reporters in late July, Kanko noted that "the complaint lodged against me at the European Parliament by a dismissed member of staff has been rejected".
"On the basis of all the arguments, the facts and the results of the investigation, the competent committee has concluded that the accusations made against me have proved to be unfounded," she added.
"I'm very happy that after this very thorough investigation, which lasted months, my name has finally been cleared. I hope now to be able to put behind me for good this episode that has been so difficult for me and my family."
