"Why would Qatar bribe MEPs?" That's the question that's been doing the rounds in Brussels since news of the corruption scandal broke.
Politico's Playbook reports today that the European Parliament is trying to figure out what Qatar would want to influence, and they're not covered by the visa explanation. That's why they are concerned that the deal that ensured Qatar Airways unaffected access to Europe may have been corrupted. Now they are looking to stop the process of ratifying the deal.
As the report notes, so far, MEPs and journalists have mostly pointed to positive comments made by suspects, such as Eva Kaili, about the country's supposed progress on human rights ahead of the World Cup.
The only bill that might have affected Qatar seemed to have been a visa-free travel deal, a very minor one given that there are little more than 300,000 citizens in Qatar.
Under Brussels' microscope[BR]
But MEPs now suspect that Qatar influenced negotiations on another, significantly larger and far more lucrative deal: the EU-Qatar air deal signed last year.[/P]It is a deal criticised by major EU airlines and unions, but defended by the union saying it would provide "opportunities for both sides."
The "open skies" deal gives Qatar Airways unlimited access to the EU market of 450 million citizens. In return, EU airlines have unrestricted access to Qatar's market of 2.9 million people.
Since the scandal broke over Qatar's alleged influence-peddling in the EU, MEPs have been exploring ways to "put the brakes on" the deal, according to Playbook.
Will it intrude on internal discussions?[BR]Karima Delli, chair of the Parliament's transport committee, which negotiated the deal, has sounded the alarm in an email brought to Politico's attention. The French MEP from the Green group warned that Qatar may have interfered in the Parliament's internal discussions on the deal.
"Given recent developments, giving consensus to this deal at this stage could be difficult until it is established that the circumstances were transparent and impartial," she wrote in a message to political group coordinators in her committee Tuesday night.
Delly added that the committee would cooperate with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola's internal investigations by declassifying documents "related to Qatar, if requested."
Source: in.gr/Politico
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