MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport questioned the European Commission, on Tuesday 31 January, about updating the ratification process for the EU-Qatar air transport agreement (see EUROPE 12817/34), following the corruption scandal that shook the European Parliament (see EUROPE 13085/20).
Several MEPs first pointed out that the European Parliament was only asked to vote at the end of the process, whereas the agreement was negotiated by the European Commission - responsible for taking over the positions of the Member States - before being validated by the latter, which must then ratify it, after the Parliament has approved it. So far, only eight countries have ratified the agreement, signed in October 2021, as ratification procedures may take several years.
“It is known that Qatar operates under conditions that are completely at odds with the market. It is not acceptable that the Parliament gives its approval years after it has started to be effective”, said Dominique Riquet (Renew Europe, French).
“We have to sign an agreement without having had the opportunity to comment on or discuss the benefits for us. I don’t understand the benefits of this agreement for us. We talk about equal treatment, but I don’t think the EU has got it right”, said Philippe Olivier (Identity and Democracy, French).
“We have an agreement that nobody understands. It applies before we are consulted. What are the benefits for us? What do Europeans gain? We have a provisional agreement, but it is already being implemented. How can it be suspended?”, asked the Chair of the Committee, Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, French), regretting the lack of social or environmental guarantees.
For its part, the European Commission sought to reassure, but limited itself to pointing out that the interests of Europeans were de facto represented, since the agreement signed “takes up the formulated interests and positions of the Member States”.
As the scandal of alleged corruption by Qatar rattles the European Parliament, the question of what the Commission is doing to avoid the risk of third-party pressure and interference also came up repeatedly in the debate.
“Who can decide to withdraw or suspend the agreement? And above all, how can we be sure that pressure from Qatar has been avoided?”, asked Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Renew Europe, German).
On this point, the Commission assured that the negotiation process had been “fully transparent”. “We have shared and discussed with the Member States, the industry. We have provided the information to the European Parliament. It is impossible to conclude an agreement without the support and agreement of the Member States. Everything has been done in a transparent, open manner, there is no doubt about these kinds of concerns”, the Commission replied. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)