A European institution that brings together employers and workers will this week discuss changing its code of conduct after bullying complaints against a senior member highlighted difficulties in enforcing the rules.

Staff and members have tried to raise the issue of psychological harassment within the European Economic and Social Committee for several years. Madi Sharma, a British committee member, this year filed two complaints internally, appealed to the European Parliament, and filed cases with OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud office which can examine employee misconduct, and the European Ombudsman, the EU’s watchdog.

The controversy centers around Jacek Krawczyk. He is president of one of the organization’s three groups and could become its overarching leader in 2020, when his group chooses the committee's rotating president.

Four current and former employees besides Sharma told POLITICO that Krawczyk bullied them and others to the point of what they consider psychological harassment, frequently yelling, criticizing their work and insulting them personally in front of others.

Three staff members said they tried repeatedly to complain to the committee’s administration and human resources department. Two said the response was that nothing could be done, because members of the committee like Krawczyk are appointed by their home countries and aren't technically subject to EU staff rules.

"We need procedures, also for the members, for how to behave with the staff" — Arndt Kohn MEP

"Members basically have impunity," one said.

Krawczyk denies bullying employees. Alicja Herbowska, the head of cabinet for EESC President Luca Jahier, denied that anyone reporting a complaint had been told nothing could be done, but said the president realized "there are some gaps" in the code of conduct. She said Jahier last week proposed adding prevention measures and potential sanctions for members whose behavior was found inappropriate.

"If we can do better we absolutely want to do better," she said.

The Ombudsman is investigating Sharma's complaint that the EESC failed in its duty of care to members and staff, according to a letter from the EU watchdog which has not previously been made public.

Arndt Kohn, the member of the European Parliament in charge of writing a report to assess the EESC’s budget, said Parliament is "very concerned" about the accusations it has heard. Kohn’s report on the budget will be voted on early next year, and he said it will include the requirement that the EESC update its code of conduct.

"We need procedures, also for the members, for how to behave with the staff," he said. "As far as I know … they are working on it, but they aren’t there yet."

'We can't protect you'

The EESC is a small institution, sandwiched between the Commission and the Parliament both physically, in its location on Brussels' Rue Belliard, and figuratively, in its role of consulting on legislation that passes from the Commission to the Parliament and representing the interests of EU workers, employers and other groups.

The organization is divided into two types of employee: members and administration. Administrative staff are EU employees, subject to the rules laid out in the EU staff regulation. These rules say that if a complaint is filed about an official’s behavior, the institution can investigate. If the complaint is found valid, it can sanction or even fire them.

But members are appointed by their home countries, work part-time and aren't officially EU staff. As such, the staff regulation doesn't apply to them.

This became a problem when staffers tried to complain about Krawczyk.

One staffer who complained repeatedly to the administration reported being told that nothing could be done because there was no clear legal framework to investigate or sanction members.

"They said, basically, we can’t protect you," said the staffer, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.

The staffer said finally, repeated complaints resulted in the committee president talking to Krawczyk about his behavior.

"They can speak to him, but it doesn’t have lasting effects," the staffer said. "It’s been ongoing for years."

'No disrespect'

Krawczyk said in an interview in his office last week that he was unaware of any specific instances where people complained his behavior was inappropriate. Vice-president of Poland's employers confederation Lewiatan and the former chairman of Polish national airline LOT's board, he said there were cultural differences in the committee, and some administrative staff may not be used to private sector-style management.

"My responsibility as group president is to make sure we get all the work done ... sometimes, yes, it is very intensive work, and yes, I am very serious about my work," he said. "But I absolutely, never, ever treat my [staff] ... with intention to show them disrespect."

But a second staff member said Krawczyk "is like a dictator."

"I have worked for a very long time, and I have never worked with someone like him," said this staff member. "Nobody has ever spoken to me like this."

"I am completely open to consider any legal action that Madame Sharma will open, and then we can go and both be in that process on an equal basis" — Jacek Krawczyk

According to European Court of Justice records, in 2014 a third staffer alleged that Krawczyk bullied her, repeatedly asked her to work while she was on maternity leave and, upon her return, dismissed her to a lower rank without cause.

In her subsequently filed court case, she said the bullying culminated in physical assault, when he grabbed her hand outside a meeting room hard enough to leave a bruise.

She complained to the organization about the terms of her dismissal, the records show.

Krawczyk also filed a complaint, saying the staffer was "circulating unfounded rumors" about him, including about physical aggression. He said in the interview last week that he asked for the investigation for transparency's sake.

The investigation finished on March 25, 2015. It confirmed that a "violent verbal altercation around a meeting room" had taken place, but said there was no evidence Krawczyk physically assaulted the staffer.

It also said "the management style of [Mr. Krawczyk] is not necessarily unusual, especially in relation to the private sector." However, "it does not completely correspond ... to the administrative culture of the European public service," it acknowledged.

The investigators advised the EESC to introduce a mechanism to familiarize members with "the essential principles and rules of the [Union] administrative culture," as well as "the main problems that arise."

Two days after the internal investigation closed, on March 27, 2015 the staffer went to court. She contested — among other things — the terms of her dismissal, whether the EESC had failed in its duty of care, and whether Krawczyk’s alleged psychological harassment amounted to a misuse of power by the committee.

The court found no evidence of harassment in its ruling. But it found that the staffer's dismissal to another position was not justified, and obliged the committee to annul it, to pay the woman €2,000 in non-material damages and to cover court costs for both sides.

Code of conduct

In July this year, Sharma, the British member, filed a formal whistleblower complaint against Krawczyk. She said the complaint, along with a followup one she filed in September, listed 12 people including herself that she witnessed or heard of him bullying.

She said she personally felt threatened by him once, in 2013 or 2014, when he screamed at her in an empty room after a meeting and she "thought he was going to hit me."

Krawczyk strongly denied this, calling it "pure defamation." He said he had never been given a chance to respond to Sharma's accusations, and that he had "the feeling this is a little bit of early campaigning" for the group's selection of president in 2020.

"I am completely open to consider any legal action that Madame Sharma will open, and then we can go and both be in that process on an equal basis," he said.

"I can assure you we did everything we were able to do, we followed all the procedures and didn't leave any stone unturned" — Alicja Herbowska, head of cabinet for EESC chief Luca Jahier

Herbowska, the EESC president's head of cabinet, declined to comment on case specifics but said the committee received its first formal complaint from one member against another in July of this year.

She said the committee has since taken a number of actions, including carrying out an internal report on the situation, sending an official letter to the accused party, and proposing changes to the members' code of conduct. The proposal to allow punishment was sent to the bureau last week, she said, and will be discussed at its meeting on Tuesday.

"I can assure you we did everything we were able to do, we followed all the procedures and didn't leave any stone unturned," Herbowska said.

Sharma and staff and members who commented for this story said the committee should revise its code of conduct for members.

"Because right now, we can do what we want," Sharma said.