Il Qatar warned Brussels that the investigation by the European authorities on the role of Kingdom of the Persian Gulf in the alleged corruption scheme could affect negatively on energy agreements with Europe. Also, the kingdom that hosted i 2022 soccer world cup condemned the European Parliament’s decision to suspend relations with Qatar.
The move of the European Parliament “negatively affect regional and global security cooperation, as well as ongoing discussions on poverty and global energy security“a Qatari diplomat to the European Union said in a statement Sunday, noting that Qatar is a major supplier of liquefied natural gas to Belgium.
Last week, lawmakers in the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution calling for the suspension of security passes for Qatari representatives. A European Parliament official said on Sunday that no decision had been made on banning Qatari representatives and that the legislative body was reviewing rules on representatives of foreign governments and non-governmental organisations.
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Qatar has emerged as one of the old continent’s best hopes for replacing Russian gas. Currently, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy are in talks with Qatar to purchase LNG (liquefied natural gas) in the long term.
The warning from Qatar, which did not identify the diplomat, marked a sharp escalation in the corruption scandal that engulfed the European Parliament.
Qatargate, two members of the European Parliament arrested on suspicion of corruption
Belgian police arrested two EU legislators and several other people linked to the European Parliament because they are suspected of having accepted hundreds of thousands of euros from Qatari officials to influence the decisions of the legislator. Police have staged raids in Belgium and Italy, in what is about to become the biggest scandal in Brussels in years.
Two of the high-profile members of the European Parliament detained in an alleged scheme of influence and corruption is Eva KailiGreek MP, former Vice-President of the European Parliament e Antonio PanzeriItalian parliamentarian of the European party Socialists and Democrats.
Qatar reiterated it was not engaged in alleged cronyism and called Thursday’s parliament vote to freeze legislation involving the kingdom and suspend the passes of Qatari officials “preconceived biases”.
“Qatar was not the only party named in the investigation, but our country was exclusively criticized and attacked,” said the Qatari diplomat’s statement. “It is deeply disappointing that the Belgian government has made no effort to engage with our government to establish the facts once it becomes aware of the allegations.”
Qatar, a major exporter of natural gas
Qatar sells natural gas to China, South Korea, Japan and other Asian consumers on long-term contracts, making the country of less than three million people a major gas exporter.
Last month Qatar signed an agreement with Germany, and will send the European country two million tons of LNG a year for at least 15 years, starting from 2026. The volume would cover about 3% of Germany’s annual gas consumption in 2021.
The European Union filled its gas storage tanks ahead of winter, and some analysts say the continent could avoid an energy calamity this winter. But gas supply for the coming winters is widely expected to become more difficult for European countries.
“Qatar has strong and long-standing ties with many European Union countries, and we extend our gratitude to those who have demonstrated their commitment to these relations during the current wave of attacks against our country,” the statement reads. statement by the Qatari diplomat.