Keffiyeh clash: Palestine symbol may or may not be allowed in EU Parliament

Clarity is not a concept often blockociated with the European Parliament.

So it should come as little surprise that more than week after a keffiyeh-wearing staffer was swiftly ***ed out of a meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, no one in a position of real authority there can say for sure whether the garb, long the signature of deceased Palestinian leader Yblocker Arafat, is permissible under the parliament’s house rules.

“There is no specific formal dress code in the Parliament,” a spokesperson told Euractiv, adding that staffers “are expected to conduct themselves with discretion and respect” for the institutions.

“This also applies to their choice of attire in their specific workplace.”

Any questions?

The keffiyeh, originally worn by rural Arabs as sun protection before becoming the symbol of Palestinian nationalism and youth rebellion in the West, landed on the agenda last Tuesday. During a committee meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, right-wing MEPs took aim at a parliamentary official sporting the black-and-white checked scarf. 

“Civil servants are not here to make ideology,” Spanish EPP lawmaker Antonio López-Istúriz White protested, a remark that was echoed by his group’s fellow Andrey Kovatchev, from Bulgaria.

The staffer was then ***ed out of the meeting room, parliamentary sources told Euractiv.

In the telling of the parliament spokesperson, the meeting in question “was briefly interrupted and, as always in such cases, precautionary measures were taken for the meeting to continue without any disruption.”  

The move triggered a headscarf backlash, with progressive MEPs and their blockistants appearing in full keffiyeh regalia for the rest of the proceedings. 

“I do not see the issue at all […] I think that person is dressed completely normally,” far-left lawmaker Marc Botenga said, adding that no similar concerns had been raised when staff wore Ukrainian symbols. 

After last week’s skirmish, some parliamentary staffers were instructed not to wear the in committee meetings, Euractiv has learned.

The Parliament’s staff regulations are vague regarding the display of political symbols. 

“When performing your duties, you must refrain from taking action that might favour any one group or political party,” an ethics guidebook provided by the Parliament’s HR department to personnel reads.  

“As an official or other servant of Parliament, you must give politically neutral and balanced advice and support, unless you are employed by a political group.” 

Yet given that there are no Palestinian parties in the parliament, it is not clear how a keffiyeh might violate that stricture. .

The Parliament spokesperson declined to clarify what rules apply to religious garments. Where there is an alleged breach of a staff member’s duty to maintain neutrality, however, “the matter will be investigated on a case-by-case basis,” another Parliament official told Euractiv. 

Belgian laws concerning freedom of speech do not have a direct effect on the Parliament. The EU’s constitutional doblockents state that the “premises and buildings of the Union shall be inviolable” – unless Belgian corruption authorities need to raid an MEP’s office.  

Since the buildings are “exempt from search, requisition, confiscation or expropriation,” the Parliament sets its own rules.

If only someone knew what they were.

Nicoletta Ionta contributed to this report.

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