The corruption scandal is causing horror in the EU, and several suspects are in custody. But the scandal could also have consequences for the Gulf state of Qatar. According to one report, a comprehensive air transport agreement is at stake – as well as visa facilitation for the country.
After the corruption scandal in the European Parliament became known, MPs threatened Qatar with economic consequences. This reports the “Spiegel”. Accordingly, a comprehensive air transport agreement that the EU agreed with the Gulf state a year ago is at stake. “As things stand at present, I doubt that I can agree to the agreement politically,” SPD MEP Ismail Ertug told the newspaper. The EU Parliament must approve the agreement once it has been ratified by all 27 EU countries. According to the EU Commission, only 6 countries have done so.
Bernd Lange, head of the EU Parliament’s Foreign Trade Committee, also indicated economic consequences for Qatar. “All activities would now be examined particularly thoroughly and assessed differently than with other partners in terms of necessity,” the SPD politician told the “Spiegel”. According to the report, the agreement would be particularly lucrative for Qatar: it would allow the country’s airlines to fly directly to all airports in the EU in the future.
According to Belgian investigators, Qatar is said to have paid money to current and former employees of the European Parliament in order to influence political decisions. The deposed parliamentary vice president Eva Kaili and three other suspects are currently in custody.
The planned visa facilitation for Qatar is also on the brink because of the corruption scandal. A working group with representatives of the parliamentary groups had already agreed to allow Qatar and three other countries to enter the EU without a visa and passed the proposal to the plenary for a vote. Parliament President Roberta Metsola has now referred the proposal back to the committee after the scandal became known.
The visa agreement could now be buried there. “If the allegations against Qatar are true, it would be a serious attack on our democracy, which must have consequences,” said Green MP Erik Marquardt, who is in charge of the visa issue, to the “Spiegel”. “There can be no visa facilitation then.”
