The Belgian authorities have revoked the warrant against New Democracy MP Dimitris Avramopoulos, before whom the former European Union Commissioner voluntarily appeared in order to provide explanations regarding the case known as the Qatargate scandal.

Following this development, the Greek judicial authorities have closed the case file and it will be archived, since there is no longer an active warrant.

More specifically, although a few days ago Parliament gave the “green light” for the lifting of Dimitris Avramopoulos’s parliamentary immunity, following a recommendation by the Ethics Committee of the Greek Parliament and with the agreement of the MP under investigation, that decision has essentially become a dead letter.

This is because the warrant issued by the Belgian authorities was revoked, and therefore the Athens Court of Appeal Prosecutor’s Office no longer has any grounds for executing it.

As is known, Dimitris Avramopoulos had voluntarily appeared before the Belgian authorities who had summoned him and was questioned as part of the investigation being conducted by the Belgian Justice system, submitting all the necessary evidence and providing oral explanations in order to demonstrate that he had absolutely no involvement in the allegations made against him.

The MP himself had already indicated his intention to appear of his own accord before the Belgian judicial authorities, without having to wait for the relevant procedures to be completed, even before the warrant was revoked.

At the time, he noted that his appearance had already been agreed and scheduled following coordination between his legal representatives and the Belgian authorities, as ultimately took place.

It is recalled that, from the moment the case returned to the spotlight, Mr Avramopoulos categorically denied any involvement in illegal activity, even asking Parliament himself to pave the way for a judicial investigation into the case.

In the multi-page memorandum he submitted during the parliamentary debate, Mr Avramopoulos made specific reference to his participation in the Honorary Council of Fight Impunity, the organisation at the centre of the investigation.

As the former Commissioner had argued, his role was “exclusively honorary and advisory”, without executive, administrative, financial or management responsibilities. He also pointed out that, before taking on this particular activity, he had followed the prescribed procedure for former Commissioners before the European Commission, while the remuneration he received was, according to him, known to the Greek authorities and had been taxed.

As is known, the Qatar corruption scandal in the European Parliament (the Qatargate scandal), which erupted on 9 December 2022, concerns an investigation into the exertion of influence through cash payments (euros) to members of the European Parliament and their associates, who are accused of having accepted cash and gifts from Qatar and Morocco in exchange for promoting the interests of those countries within the European Union. The scandal was exposed when police raided properties in Brussels, seized more than €1 million in cash and arrested several suspects.