Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Top lobbyist defends alleged bully set to chair EU body

  • Jacek Krawczyk denies all the allegations (Photo: EESC)

One of Europe's top business lobbyists has stepped forward to defend an alleged bully who is facing possible criminal charges in Belgium.

The letter, seen by this website, speaks of "presumption of innocence" and "rule of law" in its defence of Jacek Krawczyk, who is set to be the next president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • The EESC, based in Brussels, is the smallest EU institution (Photo: EU)

Krawczyk has for years skirted allegations of psychological abuse, until the EU's anti-fraud office Olaf earlier this year demanded Belgian judicial authorities launch an investigation, as first revealed by EUobserver.

The intervention is timely because of Krawczyk's future leadership position over a minor EU institution that delivers non-binding opinions on Union affairs.

Krawczyk currently presides over the EESC's employers group and works closely with BusinessEurope, an association that spends over €4m a year to push corporate agendas at the EU level.

Now BusinessEurope's director general, Markus Beyrer, is pressing the current president of the EU body to "ensure that the internal procedures of the EESC are balanced and fair."

Dated Monday (8 June), the letter comes one day ahead of Krawczyk's reckoning within the EESC's administrative hierarchy, known as the Bureau.

The Bureau is set to deliver a verdict on Krawczyk, a Polish national who has denied all charges amid claims they are political ploys to derail his leadership ambitions.

Fired?

However, a draft version of the Bureau's decision ahead of the meeting, and seen by this website, has him fired.

It demands Krawczyk resign as head of the employers group, step down as the institution's future president, and strips him of all administrative and staff duties.

These demands may change when the final decision is made.

Meanwhile, Krawczyk has also secured the support of Polish business lobbyists.

The Polish Confederation Lewiatan last week had described the EESC's internal body dealing with harassment issues as a "kangaroo court."

Krawczyk is vice-president of that same confederation.

They claim the EESC's advisory committee is in no position to decide Krawczyk's guilt and that he has been denied any chance to properly defend himself.

They also argue that the allegations against Krawczyk were made before the EESC's code of conduct rules had entered into force early last year.

"The sequence of events and irregularities described indicates a deliberate political action aimed at discrediting Jacek Krawczyk," notes the confederation, in a letter addressed to the EESC president and dated 4 June.

Exclusive

Senior Polish member at EU body faces Belgian abuse probe

A Polish official seeking to become president of the European Economic and Social Committee, a minor EU institution, could face Belgian charges for psychological harassment after the EU's anti-fraud office Olaf alerted authorities.

EU's smallest institution warned on 'threats, blackmail'

An EU institution known as the EESC has been given until the autumn to initiate a series of reforms to protect victims of harassment and whistleblowers, including against threats, blackmail and bribery attempts.

'Law of silence' reigns over EESC leaders, says staff union

The secretary-general of the European Economic and Social Committee, an EU institution, has been accused by a trade union representing staff for perpetuating a "law of silence" amid a flurry of abuse allegations against its likely future president Jacek Krawczyk.

Letter

Letter from the EESC on per diem article

The European Economic and Social Committee defends the system of "per diem" payment to its members for the work they do, as they recieve no attendance fees or salaries.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us