Qatar has obliquely threatened to cut off the EU from its supply of natural gas amid claims that the Islamist nation bribed officials in Brussels.
The Islamist nation of Qatar has expressed outrage over accusations that it bribed a number of influential bigwigs in Brussels by threatening to cut European nations off from their supplies of gas.
Numerous people, including one senior MEP, have been arrested and charged in relation to the corruption scandal which has rocked the very foundations of EU politics, with law enforcement having reportedly confiscated €1.5 million (~$1.6 million) in cash suspected to be linked to corruption.
With much of the corruption being allegedly linked back to the likes of Qatar trying to gain influence over the union’s affairs, the European Parliament has frozen ongoing work in relation to the Islamist nation, and has also banned Qatari representatives from entering the premises of parliament.
However, seemingly unhappy with the sudden degree of scrutiny, Politico reports that officials from Qatar have demanded that EU politicians drop these restrictions, calling them discriminatory.
Should Brussels refuse, the country has euphemistically suggested that the bloc’s energy supply could be put in danger.
“The decision to impose such a discriminatory restriction that limits dialogue and cooperation on Qatar before the legal process has ended, will negatively affect regional and global security cooperation, as well as ongoing discussions around global energy poverty and security,” a diplomat from the country reportedly said.
Officials also expressed disappointment in the actions of Belgian authorities specifically who had largely spearheaded the investigation, with the nation’s representative emphasising that their nation is “an important supplier of LNG” to the EU member state.
“It is deeply disappointing that the Belgian government made no effort to engage with our government to establish the facts once they became aware of the allegations,” the diplomat reportedly remarked.
Such a veiled threat against the EU’s energy supply has likely resulted in a serious case of déjà vu for many European lawmakers, with the union having already been put in a similar situation earlier this year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Before the current conflict between the two nations, the European Union had largely been reliant on Russia for its supply of both oil and gas, with many countries within the bloc opting to import from Moscow instead of investing in domestic fossil fuel production for reasons linked to green ideology.
Such a situation resulted in Putin holding great sway over many within the union, with various bigwigs within Brussels and beyond frequently accusing the Kremlin of “blackmail” after the country largely stopped supplying the European continent. After the war began, European nations scrambled worldwide to secure new sources of natural gas to power the continent, which more often than not came in the form of LPG.
Qatar is one of those new sources. While dependence on Qatar is presently low for the bloc as a whole — five per cent or less — some nations are more beholden than others. Belgium, the country largely responsible for the ongoing investigation into EU corruption, is reliant on Qatar for as much as 20 per cent of its gas supply.
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