Revealed: UAE involved in the so-called Qatar corruption scandal in the EU
Leaked documents and multiple European sources confirmed the UAE was involved in what was known as the Qatari corruption scandal in the European Parliament and that Abu Dhabi was involved in falsely accusing Doha of bribing European parliamentarians.
The leaked documents and evidence show that the UAE continues to adopt an incitement approach that leads it to a declared state of hostility with many of its neighbouring countries and the use of its lobby in Europe to serve this treacherous approach.
Chief press correspondent of the European Union
Jack Parrock confirmed that official investigations proved the involvement of the UAE in plotting the corruption scandal.
Parrock tweeted that he had received documents confirming that the UAE was behind a plot in connection with the escalating corruption scandal sweeping the European Parliament.
BREAKING: Confirmed sources close to power #Qatar have told me that in the government in Doha, "everyone believes the #UAE is behind it [hatching a conspiracy]”, in relation to the escalating corruption scandal engulfing the European Parliament. #Kaili #QatarGate
— Jack Parrock (@jackeparrock) December 14, 2022
In the same context, a European source revealed to Emirates Leaks that the UAE coaxed some members of a European parliamentary delegation during their visit to Abu Dhabi last May to plot the plot against Qatar.
The source pointed out that officials in Abu Dhabi presented a list of names to neutralize, which included some MPs who have balanced positions on the human rights file in Qatar in exchange for hard positions on human rights violations in the UAE.
According to the source, a number of members of this European parliamentary delegation received financial grants from the UAE amounting to 150,000 euros in cash in exchange for cooperation with the Abu Dhabi plot, which was prepared months ago.
The source confirmed that the Emirati lobby in Europe has been active in recent months to incite against Qatar and successfully wooed many European parliamentarians through cash and real estate gifts.
The source said, “it is obvious now that the UAE plotted against Qatar and whitewashed Abu Dhabi’s image, especially after Doha managed to obtain European approval to waiver Qatar’s from the Schengen visa, a waiver that UAE considered its unique gain on the Arab and Gulf levels.”
The same source pointed out that the UAE intended to take advantage of the angry atmosphere against Qatar after it refused to allow signs of support for homosexuality during its hosting of the 2022 World Cup.
A few months ago, the European Microscope for Middle East Issues published leaked documents revealing suspicious activities of the UAE that aimed to woo several members of the European Parliament through illegal means, including offering financial bribes and granting facilities and gifts.
The European Microscope, a European institution concerned with monitoring the interactions of Middle East issues in Europe, said that the documents show intensive efforts by the UAE to attract several members of the European Parliament in a step by Abu Dhabi to limit opposing stances against it.
According to the documents, the UAE lobby in Europe has been working for months on a campaign to attract and gain the support of members of the European Parliament in various suspicious ways as part of a systematic plan that senior officials supervised in Abu Dhabi.
The documents stated that among the members of the European Parliament with whom the UAE is communicating to gain their positions are Dominique Bilde from France, Julie Lechanteux from France, Philippe Olivier from France, Tom Berendsen from the Netherlands, Vera Tax from the Netherlands, Markus Buchheit from Germany and Ernest Urtasun from Spain in addition to Silvia Sardone from Italy and others.
Diplomatic sources commented that the UAE has intensified its campaign to buy off members of the European Parliament and attract its positions in its favour, or at least push them to refrain from supporting decisions against it.
The same sources indicated that the UAE campaign responded to the escalation of criticism of the European Parliament in the past three years by adopting official decisions against Abu Dhabi, especially its poor human rights record.
This includes the European Parliament’s adoption, on September 16, 2021, of a resolution titled “Human Rights Record in the Emirates” that strongly criticizes Abu Dhabi’s violations, the suppression of public freedoms, and the prevention of peaceful assembly in it.
Article 14 of the decision stated: “We call on the international companies that sponsor Expo 2020 to withdraw their sponsorship, and we encourage member states not to participate in the event.”
The decision at the time sparked official criticism from the UAE, in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation issued a statement that considered the European Parliament’s decision “incorrect from a realistic point of view.”
On February 11, 2021, the European Parliament also passed a draft resolution under the title The Humanitarian and Political Situation in Yemen, which included in its third article “a demand for a complete ban on the export of security equipment to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”
At the time, more than 90 per cent of the European Parliament members, who covered the entire political spectrum, voted in favour of the resolution.
The resolution called on European Union countries to stop all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE without distinguishing between “offensive” and “defensive” weapons. It went so far as to refer human rights violations in Yemen to the International Criminal Court.
The MEPs also urged EU governments to use the EU’s newly adopted global human rights sanctions mechanism to target Saudi and Emirati officials.
In addition, the European Parliament has previously issued a series of resolutions condemning the UAE’s foreign interventions, especially in Africa, and its violations of the rights of workers and women, under pressure from international organizations active in the field of human rights.
On the other hand, the UAE is known for its suspicious activities in establishing illegal relations with European parliamentarians and officials to cover up its violations and mobilize lobbies to whiten its image and attack its opponents.
