European Parliament accused of corruption over ‘open skies’ airline agreement with Qatar

EU suspends Qatar work as corruption scandal rocks Brussels.

The European Parliament is poised to tear up its “open skies” air travel deal with Qatar after a bribery scandal sent shockwaves through Brussels.

Senior MEPs are calling for the suspension of the European Union-Qatar aviation agreement, which was struck last year and gives Qatari airlines – in particular Qatar Airways – more access to EU markets and airspace.

Most notably, the agreement opened the door to unlimited flights between Doha and European airports.

At the time, Adina Vălean, the Commissioner for Transport, noted that the agreement between the two parties was “a global benchmark or forward-looking aviation agreements.”

Four people have so far been arrested on bribery charges linked to the ‘open skies’ agreement.

Police released new photographs of nearly €1.5 million in banknotes seized so far, including hundreds of thousands of euros that were stuffed into suitcases and paper bags.

Eva Kaili, a Greek MEP, and Pier Antonio Panzeri, an Italian MEP, were arrested on money laundering and corruption charges. Belgian prosecutors said they’re probing whether large sums of money were being paid to influence the decisions of parliament.

On Thursday, the European Parliament voted to stop legislative work related to Qatar and called for barring the country’s representatives from the legislature.

“These criminal proceedings are damaging for democracy for Europe and everything we stand for,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told reporters on Thursday.

“We need to send a powerful message to those external actors who try to undermine us that we will not yield.”

The EU is bracing for the possibility that the scandal could continue to grow. Police in Belgium and Italy have conducted at least 20 searches, and also seized data from at least 10 parliamentary staff.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc needs to redouble its efforts to fight corruption and said she will accelerate efforts to create an ethics body that would cover all European institutions.

The probe comes as Qatar is hosting the World Cup football tournament – an event that has its own allegations of bribery and corruption.