London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, May 09, 2025

EU leaders try to sideline Qatar scandal — while they still can

EU leaders try to sideline Qatar scandal — while they still can

Some have portrayed the European Parliament corruption probe as a problem affecting Brussels — not the rest of the bloc.
For once, the European Parliament won’t be the sideshow.

A corruption scandal has inflamed the Parliament just as EU leaders gather on Thursday for one of their regular summits. And the explosive revelations — bags of cash, possible influence peddling involving Qatar and Morocco — have reversed the script.

Normally, when EU leaders get together, the Parliament president attends, and barely anyone notices. The appearance is typically brief. The press conference is sparsely attended.

Not this time.

Parliament President Roberta Metsola will arrive at the European Council Thursday morning to a sea of cameras, as the media continues to chronicle the allegations swarming around the EU’s popularly elected body. She is due to update the EU’s 27 national leaders on the troubling details that have caused at least one MEP to be arrested on suspicions of corruption.

But for most EU leaders, it’s a case of “not my problem.”

“Really this is an issue for the Parliament,” said one European Council official. “We expect to get a debrief from Metsola, but nothing more.”

The European Council’s instinct to try and sidestep malfeasance allegations at the heart of the EU could be self-defeating — and store up problems for the EU in the long term.

“The potential reputational damage here can be immense,” Petros Fassoulas, secretary general of the pro-EU organization European Movement International, told POLITICO. “Most people don’t distinguish between one institution or another. The issue is that once you put the word corruption next to any European institution, people automatically associate the EU with the act of corruption.”

Looming in the distance is the 2024 European elections — the once-every-five-years exercise that is the nearest thing the EU has to a bloc-wide election.

The European elections have traditionally been a place for anti-EU forces to make their voices heard. Indeed, some of the EU’s biggest critics — Britain’s Nigel Farage and France’s Marine Le Pen come to mind — have grabbed attention in the European Parliament before moving home to spread their Euroskeptic message further.

Now there is a fear that the Qatar scandal, which has rocked Parliament, could discredit the institution even more.

“This scandal risks playing straight into the hands of anti-European, anti-democratic forces,” Fassoulas said. “It’s vital that the EU gets ahead of this, especially in light of the European elections in 2024.”

Apart from Metsola’s scheduled debrief to EU leaders Thursday morning, no further discussion of the scandal is on the official agenda for Thursday’s gathering. One diplomat said that the leaders’ response may depend on what she has to say.

EU leaders have also plenty of other issues to discuss.

Deep divisions have emerged over the European Commission’s plan to counter packages of U.S. subsidies they worry are luring investments away from Europe, countries still can’t agree on how (and whether) to cap gas prices, and Romania and Bulgaria remain incensed they’ve not been allowed into the Schengen free-travel zone.

Additionally, there were last-minute hiccups on a multi-layered deal to unlock €‎18 billion in aid for Ukraine and finalize a minimum corporate tax rate, after Poland blocked the proposal late Wednesday.

But in reality, the harsh spotlight being shed on the EU’s relationship with Qatar could be uncomfortable for many countries, especially as calls come to reassess lucrative aviation agreements with Doha.

Several EU members have also upped their reliance on the Gulf state for energy as they seek to wean off Russian gas. In recent weeks, German firms struck a 15-year deal to buy liquified natural gas from Qatar. And on Wednesday, Hungary announced that energy group MVM would begin talks with QatarEnergy about buying LNG gas.

Asked if the allegations about possible cash-for-influence infiltrating Parliament should cause the EU to reassess other commercial interests with Qatar, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sidestepped the question on Wednesday, keeping the focus on the specificities of the ongoing Belgian case.

“What needs to be reviewed is which accusations are to be made against those who are now confronted with the accusation of having been bribed, and of course this also applies to those who were on the other side, meaning those who bribed,” he told reporters in Brussels.

Scholz’s economy minister, Robert Habeck, explicitly argued on Tuesday evening that the unfolding discoveries shouldn’t alter his country’s gas-purchasing plans.

“These are two different things,” Habeck said.

Not all EU leaders want to duck the issue, however.

Arriving at an EU summit with southeast Asian countries on Wednesday, Irish leader Micheál Martin said the public was “shocked” at what had transpired, and he called for the establishment of an EU-wide body to police the institutions, including Parliament.

“The whole idea of an overseeing body to ensure compliance and adherence to ethics is required,” he said. “Obviously, due process has to take place but nonetheless, people must have confidence in European Union institutions, and particularly the European Union Parliament, because it has increased its powers over the years.”

Other leaders echoed a view that many Parliament members espoused this week — that the corruption allegations don’t point to a systemic problem, only a few bad apples. Speaking in Brussels Wednesday, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas conceded that the revelations were damaging “not only to the European Union but also to European politicians.”

“I must confirm and say we are not all like this,” she added, noting that having these cases out in public may help prevent them in the future.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
Depression, Fear of Defamation, and a Tragic End: New Details on Virginia Giuffre’s Suicide
“Sharia for UK, Allah Akbar!”
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Incident Reflection: A Harsh Reality Check
Pakistani migrants to Danish man: “ “We have 5 children while you have 1 or 2. In 10 years, there will be more Pakistanis than Danes here.“
Clashes Erupt in London as Tensions Rise Between Indian and Pakistani Communities
Specialized anti-drone weapons deployed among security personnel Ahead of Papal Funeral
How do you fix this culture?
×