How big is Qatar's economic influence on Europe? | DW News

here in Europe allegations of bribery and Corruption within the highest Echelon of law making have sent shock waves across the continent the arrest of Eva Kaylee our senior vice president of the European Parliament on suspicion of accepting money in exchange for giving Qatar good publicity has raised questions about just how much influence the Gulf State May wield on the continent it has also Shone a light on the country's business ties with Europe so let's take a look then at that relationship last year qatar's exports to the EU amounted to almost 7 billion euros the vast majority of that unsurprisingly was gas going the other way the EU sold goods worth around 8.5 billion euros to Qatar the main exports there were machines turbines and electronic equipment Qatar has also been investing heavily in a range of European businesses the country holds a quarter of British carrier iag it has a 17 stake in Germany's Volkswagen and it's also a major shareholder in Swiss mining Giant glencore and Spanish energy conglomerate ebitdroller those Investments suggesting the country is setting its sights on a future with less Reliance on gas for more on this we can speak now to Andre Wolfe he's a researcher at the center for European policy I think tank hi Andre lovely to see you now you have conducted extensive research on qatar's business ties with Europe based on what you have found how big an influence do you think Qatar wields on the continent but what you can certainly say is that qatar's economic engagement in Europe is very comprehensive and widespread among countries and sectors they're not just investing in finance or certain high-tech sectors they also invest in soft sectors like fashion and sports and in many cases they in their Investments reach a critical level that allows them to exert a strategic influence on certain key players and sectors and at the same time of course there's also their role as the second largest supply of LNG which will remain a bridge technology for Europe in its a quest for achieving its energy transformation so in relation to their size their influence is quite remarkable even though it does not reach the level of criticality we see for instance in case of China exactly just as you say Qatar is a really small country it's very rich of course but why do you think it is so interest in boosting its its image in Europe what exactly does it want I see two main interests of Qatar in Europe first I think they see investment in Europe's economy as a means to hedge against the price risks they are facing in the LNG business so they use Europe as an opportunity to diversify the foreign resources and foreign revenues which is essential for the Qatari government to maintain the generous support to the local population while at the same time there's obviously also the desire to increase their reputation and recognition in the international Arena through engagement in popular activities like sports for instance possibly with a long-term goal to conclude something like a comprehensive free trade agreement with the EU okay so based on all that I'd love to end with a personal question when you heard news of this corruption Scandal what was your gut response were you surprised as the rest of us were honestly I was very surprised because I would have expected them to choose ways that are less risky and less obviously illegal in increasing their political influence in Europe especially given the allegations they already faced in the past surrounding the awarding of the World Cup I can only imagine that sort of underestimated the role of control mechanisms at a critical public in the European political system but of course we need to wait for the further investigations will tell fascinating stuff and revolved from the center for European policy thank you so much you're welcome