Brussels - The Brussels-based media corps learnt a lesson in Cypriot etiquette Tuesday when a journalist writing about the European Union's new health commissioner was told it would be rude to ask about her age.

Androulla Vassiliou, a Cypriot member of parliament and former first lady, formally replaced Markos Kyprianou on March 3, after her compatriot took up the post of foreign minister in the new Cyprus government.

When a German journalist intent on writing a profile of the new commissioner asked Vassiliou's office what her age was, she was told that it is "very rude to ask for the age of a Cypriot commissioner."

Upon her insistence, the journalist - who makes no secret of the fact that she is 37 - was eventually told that the commissioner is "around 65".

The EU's official website profiles Vassiliou's studies and her professional career. It even lists her hobbies ("listening to music, walking, swimming and reading"), but makes no reference to her birth details.

An internet search proved unhelpful.

For the record, Vassiliou will celebrate her 65th birthday in late November. (dpa)