Select a language
Do you drink? Smoke? Got haemorrhoids? When was your last period? Each and every one of the 1500 assistants to members of the European Parliament has to answer all these questions, reports the Frankfurter Rundschau. That’s the medical vetting procedure since last summer, now that they are officially employed by the European Parliament and not by their MEP any more. The urine and blood samples, x-rays and electrocardiogram – that’s all fair enough, but the prying questionnaire is beyond the pale, bridles the German daily, wondering what the point is of knowing whether a parliamentary assistant has had any of 40 different diseases, whether there is a history of hypertension, cancer or mental illness in the family, whether they have ever consulted a neurologist, psychiatrist or psychotherapist (and if so, the reason for the consultation, name and address of the specialist in question).
Do you like our work?
Help multilingual European journalism to thrive, without ads or paywalls. Your one-off or regular support will keep our newsroom independent. Thank you!
