Luxembourg, 07/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Court of Justice has confirmed that Maria Campogrande has not proved that she had been the victim of sexual harassment. Her Director's behaviour (Mr A) when she worked at the European Commission's Directorate on Latin America was "no more than friendly remarks or mere coincidences", asserts the Court. Maria Campogrande had complained about having to put up with a "series of comments about her person and repeated improper advances which went far beyond the bounds of a normal professional relationship" for years.
At a meeting on 27 February 1997, Mr A had "given her a smack on the lower part of her back, at the same time making the … comment: "As you can see, my directorate is very well represented by women". Ms Campogrande said this had been the last straw. The Court of First Instance to which she had first appealed against the Commission found her allegations too weak, the behaviour being complained of being characterised by "no more than friendly remarks or mere coincidences" that did not merit being called an "incident". As for the incident on 27 February, none of the participants at the meeting had confirmed Ms Campogrande's version of the events, explained the Court of First Instance.
The Court rejected Ms Campogrande's appeal, accepting the Court of First Instance's analysis. The Fourth Chamber of the Court of First Instance was chaired by Finnish judge Virpi Tiili, and the Third Chamber of the Court of Justice by Irish judge Fidelma Macken.
Maria Campogrande is well known in European circles for fighting against the predominance of English at the European institutions.