The Greens politician Anton Hofreiter demands that the alleged attempts by Qatar to bribe politicians in the European Parliament cannot remain without consequences for the Golfataat. “If a country believes that it can interfere in democracy in such a way that it can bribe MPs, I think that must have consequences,” said the chairman of the Bundestag’s Europe Committee on RTL/ntv’s “Frühstart” program.
In the course of investigations into possible interference, the Greek EU Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili and several parliamentary staff were arrested on Friday. Kaili is suspected of taking money to influence political decisions for the World Cup host country.
Hofreiter: Qatar is a lesser evil than Russia at the moment
According to Hofreiter, it is difficult to say whether Germany should continue to sign economic deals with Qatar despite the allegations. From 2026, the Gulf State is to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany to secure the gas supply. “At the moment, despite this bribery, Qatar is perhaps the lesser evil compared to Russia,” said the Green politician.
However, the corruption scandal shows that supplying the economy urgently needs to become independent of “dictatorships and autocratic regimes”. “That’s why Qatar can only be an intermediate step that you have to get out of as soon as possible.”
