The international news channel Politico reported on Tuesday that Henrik Hololei, the European Commission’s leading transport official, was receiving free air tickets from the Qatari government while his subordinates were discussing the details of an aviation deal with the country’s representatives.
According to Politico, Estonian representative Henrik Hololei, Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Transport and Mobility, flew nine times on Qatar Airways business class aircraft between 2015 and 2021. Six of the flights were during negotiations to allow Qatar Airways to enter the European Union market, and in four cases the flights were paid for by either the Qatari government or related parties.
Hololei declined to comment on Politico, but a European Commission spokesman defended the CEO’s decision to accept free tickets on Qatar Airways flights. “All trips were agreed upon and proceeded in accordance with the rules,” a spokesman for the commission said, adding that potential conflicts of interest were carefully considered and ruled out.
Thanks to an aviation agreement signed with Qatar in October 2021, Qatar Airways gained the right to fly to most airports in the European Union, which opened up a market of 450 million people for the company. In return, EU airlines gained access to the three-million Qatari market and the airport in Doha, which is a strategically important hub for organizing flights between Europe and Asia.
Hololey’s flight to Qatar in early 2017, when talks on an aviation deal had just begun, was not part of the negotiation process and that the CEO was not involved in developing the deal, according to a European Commission spokesman. However, Hololei led the negotiating unit and has consistently advocated publicly for cooperation with Qatar, Politico notes.
According to the representative of the European Commission, the European Union usually pays for the costs of foreign travel of its employees. “However, in some cases, third parties may still pay all or part of the costs,” he added. At the same time, in order to approve the trip, all possible risks of a conflict of interest must be excluded, the representative emphasized.
The reputation of European Union institutions was badly damaged when Belgian police reported last December that one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, who is still under arrest, was receiving money from Qatar, and several other members of the European Parliament were involved in this scandal. The chair of the parliamentary subcommittee on human rights, Maria Arena, resigned from her post in mid-January after it became known that she had incorrectly declared free flights and accommodation paid for by Qatar.
Representatives of anti-corruption organizations who spoke with Politico noted that the Hololei case shows that the Qatari scandal is not limited to the European Parliament and that the European Commission’s relations with this country should also be investigated.
Hololei became Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Transport and Mobility on 1 October 2015. He is the only representative of Estonia holding the highest possible position of an official of the European Union.
source: err