Dimitris Avramopoulos, a former European commissioner named in a Belgian arrest warrant in connection with an ongoing probe into the Qatargate scandal, should have appeared before the country’s authorities when he was first summoned almost a year ago, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said Wednesday.
“When the authorities summon you, you must respond, even if it may seem to us that a case does not have merit,” Marinakis said in a regular press briefing.
He also denied Avramopoulos’ claim that he was informed of the arrest warrant by the prime minister’s office. “Such a thing is not true because the regular timeframes were followed…The prime minister could not have done anything,” he said.
The arrest warrant alleges breaches of post-mandate ethics conditions linked to his cooperation with the NGO at the center of the Qatargate scandal. Those conditions allowed Avramopoulos, currently a lawmaker with ruling New Democracy, to work with Fight Impunity – established by former Italian MEP Antonio Panzeri, who negotiated a plea bargain with Belgian authorities early on in the case – on the condition that, for two years after leaving office, he would not engage in lobbying or influence activities on matters falling within his former portfolio as Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship (2014-2019).
