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The European Fee’s prime transport official is beneath mounting strain over his determination to take free flights from Qatar whereas his workforce negotiated a serious aviation take care of the Gulf state.
The EU government department beforehand mentioned that Henrik Hololei’s journeys had been in step with the principles, and all potential conflicts of curiosity had been “rigorously thought-about and excluded” on the time.
However on Monday a spokesperson for the Fee disclosed that the these guidelines meant Hololei himself had been the particular person liable for reaching the judgment that his journey didn’t give rise to a battle of curiosity. Below the present guidelines, this can be a determination for administrators common like Hololei to take for themselves, the spokesperson mentioned throughout a daily briefing for reporters in Brussels.
“The invitation and the context through which the director common travelled supplied the weather for him to make the evaluation,” the European Fee spokesperson mentioned. “The evaluation that he made at the moment that this didn’t quantity to a battle of curiosity,” she mentioned. The Fee mentioned it isn’t conscious of any doc setting out Hololei’s rationale for his determination.
Final week POLITICO revealed that Hololei, the director common of the Fee’s transport division, flew enterprise class totally free on Qatar Airways 9 instances between 2015 and 2021, together with six journeys throughout a vital interval when the EU-Qatar open skies settlement was being put collectively. 4 of those flights had been paid for by the federal government of Qatar or a gaggle linked to Qatar.
Whereas the related pointers state that there’s a requirement to flag or talk about the problem in case of doubt about potential battle of curiosity, this isn’t necessary and it isn’t clear whether or not Hololei requested for any recommendation earlier than accepting the free flights and lodging.
The most recent disclosures raised additional questions concerning the EU’s moral requirements at a extremely delicate time. Brussels is already preventing to restore the harm from the so-called Qatargate corruption scandal that has engulfed the European Parliament in allegations of bribery and cash laundering.
On Monday, the Fee confronted a barrage of questions on POLITICO’s report on Hololei’s journey preparations. The spokesperson mentioned the Fee has no data to recommend that different administrators common or deputy administrators common had accepted journey from non-EU international locations.
Requested if Hololei ought to resign, the spokesperson declined to present a direct reply, saying: “Every little thing was in step with the principles relevant on the time.”
The Fee confirmed that Hololei’s lodge lodging was additionally paid for by third events whereas he was on the bottom in Qatar. The spokesperson mentioned officers had been wanting into whether or not some other journey bills or prices had been paid for throughout these journeys.
The Fee introduced a evaluation of the principles following the POLITICO story, however the present system will proceed for now till the evaluation is accomplished in the summertime.
On Monday, EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly launched a probe into the matter, although the Fee mentioned this work was designed to assist enhance its processes and couldn’t result in any discovering of maladministration.
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