Qatar on Sunday (18 December) condemned a corruption investigation by Belgium and the suspension of the Gulf state’s entry to the EU parliament, saying it might “negatively” affect ties and pure fuel provides.
An announcement issued by a Qatari diplomat singled out Belgian authorities for criticism and insisted that “inaccurate” data had been used.
Eva Kaili, a Greek MEP, is one in every of 4 folks charged after raids that uncovered a minimum of 1.5 million euros in money.
The cash was suspected of being linked to a Gulf state, and the EU parliament final week referred to as for Qatar’s entry to the establishment to be suspended.
The scandal has erupted as many European international locations look to Qatar for liquefied pure fuel provides. It has additionally been a hyperlink in contacts with Afghanistan and introduced hundreds of European nationals in a foreign country when the Taliban took energy.
“The choice to impose such a discriminatory restriction that limits dialogue and cooperation on Qatar earlier than the authorized course of has ended, will negatively have an effect on regional and world safety cooperation, in addition to ongoing discussions round world vitality poverty and safety,” stated the diplomat.
“We firmly reject the allegations associating our authorities with misconduct,” the assertion added.
“Qatar was not the one get together named within the investigation, but our nation has been completely criticised and attacked.”
Based on media experiences, Moroccan pursuits additionally face scrutiny within the investigation.
“We have now noticed this week’s selective condemnation of our nation with nice alarm,” the assertion stated.
Belgian prosecutors stated they’d been investigating EU parliament corruption for greater than a 12 months earlier than the raids and arrests of the previous 10 days.
“It’s deeply disappointing that the Belgian authorities made no effort to interact with our authorities to ascertain the info as soon as they turned conscious of the allegations,” stated the diplomat.
MEPs ‘misled’
The assertion highlighted the “shut” relationship with Belgium.
“Our nations cooperated throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and Qatar is a crucial provider of LNG to Belgium,” it emphasised.
Kaili has been stripped of her duties as a European Parliament vice chairman. She and three different folks have been charged with “prison organisation, corruption and cash laundering”.
The scandal has triggered shockwaves within the EU parliament amid requires a common clampdown on dealings with third-country lobbyists.
Qatar feels it has been unfairly singled out, with sentiment swayed by different accusations made towards the rich Gulf state in its internet hosting of the World Cup.
“The choice to completely ban representatives from a single nation on the EU Parliament demonstrates that MEPs have been considerably misled,” stated the assertion.
“It’s unlucky that some acted on preconceived prejudices towards Qatar and made their judgements based mostly on the wrong data within the leaks slightly than ready for the investigation to conclude.”
Qatar has already had one diplomatic showdown with Germany in latest months. Doha summoned the German ambassador after the inside minister solid doubt on whether or not Qatar ought to host the World Cup due to its therapy of overseas employees.
“Qatar has sturdy and longstanding ties with many international locations within the European Union, and we lengthen our gratitude to those that have demonstrated their dedication to those relationships throughout this present wave of assaults towards our nation,” stated the diplomat.
