Qatar Threatens To Withhold Gas Supplies to EU Over Corruption Investigation

Qatar has subtly threatened the European Union with limiting the bloc’s supply of its natural gas in a condemnation issued by one of the country’s diplomats on Sunday, which said that Belgium’s corruption investigation into whether Qatar paid a Greek member of the European Parliament some $1.5 million euro to improve its standing could “negatively” impact relations and natural gas supplies. The EU-bloc countries remain increasingly dependent on Qatar’s supply of natural gas due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At the end of last week, the EU Parliament suspended Qatar’s access to the body days after it arrested Greek politician and European Parliament Vice President Eva Kalili on preliminary charges of corruption and money laundering. Politico reports that Kaili had visited Qatar in early November, where she met with government officials including the labor minister, and then delivered a speech in the European Parliament ahead of the World Cup in which she praised Qatar as a “frontrunner in labor rights,” and praised the country’s “historic transformation” at a time when Qatar was being roundly criticized for its poor and even deadly treatment of mostly foreign construction workers. “The decision to impose such a discriminatory restriction that limits dialogue and cooperation on Qatar before the legal process has ended, will negatively effect regional and global security cooperation, as well as ongoing discussions around global energy poverty and security,” the news agency AFP quoted the unnamed diplomat as saying. The diplomat also noted that despite the fact that several parties were name in the investigation, Qatar “has been exclusively criticized and attacked.” The World Cup in Qatar ends tonight.