Allegations against a CDU MEP in the European Parliament: Karolin Braunsberger-Reinhold from Saxony-Anhalt is said to have molested an employee at a wine festival. The politician speaks of a misunderstanding.
A German member of the European Parliament is accused of sexually harassing an employee while they were drunk. She herself denies the allegations. According to the "Bild" newspaper, a parliamentary committee that deals with complaints has investigated the case and recommended that no sanctions be imposed.
Specifically, it is about the CDU politician Karolin Braunsberger-Reinhold from Saxony-Anhalt. The 36-year-old confirmed to the "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung" that the committee report existed, but denied the allegations.
According to the "Bild" newspaper, Braunsberger-Reinhold visited the Saale wine mile between Bad Kösen and Roßbach in Saxony-Anhalt in June 2022 with the employee and her husband. 30 members of the CDU youth organization Junge Union were also there. During a hike in the morning, the politician drank a lot of wine. Already in the afternoon she "couldn't walk straight anymore", according to the newspaper in the exclusion report.
She explained to her employees that she was bisexual and "wanted to get laid", according to the "Bild" newspaper, citing the report. On the way home, she grabbed her employee's chest and décolleté from behind. Apparently, this staff member then turned to the committee responsible for dealing with complaints of harassment from European Parliament staff.
Braunsberger-Reinhold told the "Bild" newspaper that she "expressed deep regret" to both employees the day after the incident. The committee found that "in the overall assessment, no sanctions against me as a member of parliament and as a person" were justified. She told the "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung" that these allegations were not true. She also denied being drunk. "Yes, I had a glass of wine or two. But I can't say that I was drunk." The day after the hike, she wrote to her employees "that there had been a misunderstanding" and that she wanted to put things straight. She could not say more in view of the ongoing process.
