The European Parliament has had to pay out for failing to protect a whistleblower who was sacked after reporting harassment and fraud by an MEP.

It is another embarrassment for the Brussels institution after the Qatargate corruption scandal, which saw Belgian police arrest MEPs and seize 1.5 million (1.3 million) in cash.

The EU’s General Court ordered the parliament to pay 10,000 (about 8,500) to the victim, who, like the MEP, has not been named.

It said: “The European Parliament infringed certain protection rules relating to the status as an informant of a parliamentary assistant.”

Whistleblower rules are supposed to shield people, including parliamentary assistants, if they report wrongdoing.

The European Parliament has called for EU-wide whistleblower rules but its own rulebook is weaker than the other EU institutions.

The assistant involved in Wednesday’s ruling was exposed as a whistleblower by the parliament after reporting an MEP for harassment and fraud. This left him vulnerable to retaliation, the court said.

He was transferred to another MEP but fired soon afterwards, before later taking the parliament to court in a legal battle that began in December 2022.

The parliament did not comment on whether it would appeal the decision but said it was analysing the ruling.

Nick Aiossa, of Transparency International EU, told the EU Observer website: “It’s a parliament that is not taking its responsibility to protect staff seriously.

“Every single assistant who has blown...

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