Qatar should not be drawn into the EU corruption scandal, says foreign minister

• Qatar’s foreign minister rejects allegations of Doha’s involvement as having “no basis”.
• There’s an ongoing investigation from Belgian authorities.
• It is better for them to look at their own institution, the foreign minister said.

Qatar’s foreign minister said his country should not be dragged into a cash-for-influence corruption scandal at the European Parliament with investigations still ongoing, rejecting allegations of Doha’s involvement as having “no basis”.

The scandal, the biggest to rock EU politics in decades, is based on allegations that Qatar and Morocco bribed politicians, parliamentary assistants, and non-governmental organizations to influence EU assembly decisions.

“As (the) State of Qatar, we are 100% sure that this premise has no basis. We didn’t see anything (from Belgian authorities). There’s an ongoing investigation. We have to see; we have to wait until the investigation is over,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.

“This problem is a problem that is happening in Europe for a European institution. It is better for them to look at their own institution and do all the steps required for them and not to drag our country’s name in such a situation,” he added.

“The engagement with the European Union and European Union institutions have been ongoing on geopolitical issues, on energy issues, on a lot of other issues, and this kind of resolutions … it’s going to affect the conversation,” he said.

He emphasized that Qatar, a major producer of liquefied natural gas, would not politicize energy supplies to Europe through commercial agreements with the state-owned QatarEnergy.

“We have a track record that we have never missed any shipment, we have never politicized our energy or weaponized our energy as a tool for threatening any other country,” the minister said.

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