Sunday, Qatari diplomacy sent a wrath to Belgium and the European Parliament after the revelations of corruption implicating it.
by Philippe Jacqué (Brussels, European office )
This is a barely veiled threat sent from Doha to Brussels. Sunday, December 18, a few hours before Qatar organizes the final of its football World Cup, which was to see the coronation of Argentina against France, its diplomacy sent a message that could not be more clear in reaction to the first measures taken by The European Parliament after the revelations of corruption linked to the emirate and concerning in particular the former vice-president of the Assembly, the Greek Eva Kaili. This could have a “negative effect” on current discussions on “global energy security”, warned a Qatari diplomat in a press release.
Qatar, which has signed gas supply agreements with Germany, Italy, France and many European Union (EU) countries close the tap?
Since the triggering of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, Europe embarked on a race to diversify its sources of gas through the planet. In this context, a Qatari defect would be very detrimental to him. Before arriving at this end, Qatar attempts to maintain dialogue and keep remotely from the case, which has been shaking the European institution for ten days. “We firmly reject the allegations associating our government with faults,” repeated this diplomat.
Now, he added, “we observed with great concern the selective conviction of our country this week. Inaccurate information disclosed to the media by persons involved in the survey sought to manipulate opinion public and distort the opinions of deputies. “Thursday, December 15, six days after the revelation of the case and the arrest of four people, including Eva Kaili, the Parliament has indeed adopted an overwhelming majority a resolution where it said “dismayed” by the corruption case, with money, according to the current investigation, of Qatar.
In this text, MEPs ask that all work related to Qatar be suspended, in particular those on the liberalization of visas and the air agreement between the EU and the emirate, that visits be given there later And that the badges of Qatari interest representatives no longer allow them to frequent parliament until judicial investigations bring more elements.
“prejudices against Qatar”
Doha believes that “the decision to exclusively exclude representatives of a single nation in the European Parliament demonstrates that deputies have been considerably induced. It is regrettable that some have acted on the basis of prejudices against Qatar. “The Emirati diplomat considers that his country is shown to finger, when” was not the only part named in the investigation “. Since December 15, the name of Morocco also appears in the procedure led by judge Michel Claise on these facts of corruption. “However, our country has been exclusively criticized and attacked,” we regret in Doha.
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