Gas-rich Doha warns that the European Parliament’s ban will “negatively affect” energy discussions

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Qatar has warned that discussions on energy cooperation will be negatively affected by its ban from the European Parliament amid a bribery scandal.

Qatargate sent shock waves across the European Union after raids by Belgian police found at least £1.3m in cash suspected of being used by Doha to buy influence in Brussels.

Four people, including the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kayli, who is an MEP, were charged with “criminal organization, corruption and money laundering”.

Qatar denounced the Belgian investigation and warned that the parliamentary ban would “negatively” affect energy deals.

Many European countries have turned to Qatar for LNG supplies to replace Russian gas after Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

“The decision to impose such a discriminatory restriction that limits dialogue and cooperation on Qatar before the end of the legal process will negatively affect regional and global security cooperation, as well as the ongoing discussions about energy poverty and global security,” said a Qatari diplomat.

We strongly reject allegations linking our government to misconduct. Qatar is an important supplier of LNG to Belgium.”

Preconceived prejudices against Qatar

On Thursday, the European Parliament voted to suspend all work related to legislation related to Qatar and to prevent Qatari representatives from entering its headquarters.

The comment affects legislation related to visa liberalization, the EU-Qatar aviation agreement, and planned visits until allegations are confirmed or dropped.

The call to ban Qatar from the parliament, which is located in Brussels and Strasbourg, France, by MEPs came amid demands for a crackdown on lobbyists from non-EU governments.

Qatar believes it has been unfairly singled out in part because of criticism of its human rights record while hosting the World Cup. Morocco has also been accused of bribing members of the European Parliament for influence.

“We have noted this week’s selective condemnation of our country with great concern,” the diplomat said. The decision to ban representatives from one country exclusively in the EU Parliament shows that MEPs have been massively misled.

“It is unfortunate that some acted on prior prejudices against Qatar and made their judgments based on inaccurate information in the leaks rather than waiting for the investigation to conclude.”

Belgian prosecutors said they had been investigating corruption in the European Parliament for more than a year before the raids and arrests in the past 10 days.

“It is very disappointing that the Belgian government made no effort to communicate with our government to establish the facts once it became aware of these allegations,” said the Qatari diplomat.

The European Union is divided over relations with Doha

A spokesman for the Belgian Ministry of Justice did not immediately comment. On Wednesday, the ministry said its intelligence service had worked closely with other European countries to uncover the graft scandal.

The Qatari diplomat hinted at the EU’s divisions over relations with Doha, and noted that not every member state takes Qatargate as seriously as Belgium.

“Qatar has strong and long-standing relations with many European Union countries, and we express our gratitude to those who have shown their commitment to these relations during this current wave of attacks against our country,” the diplomat said.

Doha recently clashed with Berlin and recalled the German ambassador after the interior minister questioned whether Qatar should host the World Cup because of its treatment of foreign workers.

In contrast, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, ignored the activists’ criticism and traveled to Qatar to participate in the semi-finals and final of the World Cup, despite concerns about the rights of migrant workers and the rights of women and LGBT people.

Ms. Kylie has been stripped of her duties as Vice-President of the European Parliament but she denies the allegations against her. Her partner, Francesco Giorgi, has admitted to taking bribes to Belgian prosecutors, it was reported Thursday.

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