Belgian Authorities Issue Arrest Warrant for Greece’s Former EU Migration Commissioner in Qatargate Scandal

ATHENS — Belgian authorities issued a European arrest warrant for Greece’s former European Commissioner for Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, in connection with the Qatargate scandal, according to two senior Greek officials involved in the judicial process who were granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak on the issue.

The Qatargate scandal broke out in December 2022 — after Avramopoulos had left the Commission — when Belgian police launched a series of raids on properties and offices in Brussels, arrested key suspects, and seized bags of cash in one of the biggest corruption investigations to hit the EU. The core allegations are that suspects linked to the European Parliament accepted money or gifts in exchange for doing Qatar’s bidding.

“The former commissioner is charged with participation in a criminal organization, with authorities linking the case to the income he received from a nongovernmental organization at the heart of the scandal,” said one of the senior Greek officials. Belgian authorities summoned the former commissioner to testify almost a year ago, but he did not show up, said the second senior Greek official.

Former member of the European Parliament Pier Antonio Panzeri, former MEP Eva Kaili and her husband Francesco Giorgi were arrested and are facing charges of corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization as part of the Qatargate investigation. They have been released from jail pending trial, but there has been little progress in the case over the last couple of years.

Avramopoulos — who is currently a member of the Greek parliament and served as migration commissioner from 2014 to 2019 — was an honorary board member of the Fight Impunity NGO, which Panzeri founded. Avramopoulos resigned from the organization as soon as the scandal broke out. Belgian authorities called on the former commissioner to testify last year, but he did not follow up.

“My involvement in Fight Impunity was from the beginning completely without executive or management responsibilities,” said the former commissioner in a statement when he resigned. He said he was paid €73,000 by the NGO between February 2021 and February 2022.

“This case never had anything to do with me,” said Avramopoulos in a statement issued on Monday. “The issue that was attempted to be linked to my name was closed three years ago, with full institutional transparency and the seal of approval from the European Commission, following a decision signed by its president, Ursula von der Leyen. Any attempt by the Belgian authorities to reopen it and implicate my name in any issue concerning Fight Impunity — whether through baseless allegations or the distortion of facts — is arbitrary, unacceptable, suspicious and will be met with every legal means available.”

For the arrest warrant to be executed, the Greek parliament would have to vote to lift Avramopoulos’ immunity. “Although this is a completely baseless matter, I state unequivocally that I will not invoke any parliamentary immunity. On the contrary, I will personally turn to the Greek justice system, requesting that the matter be fully investigated and a ruling be issued,” he added.