Huawei lobbyists banned from accessing
European Parliament after bribery arrests
[March 15, 2025]
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Parliament on Friday banned
lobbyists working for Huawei from its premises following the arrests of
several people in a corruption probe linked to the Chinese company, in
yet another scandal to rock the bloc's legislature.
Huawei is suspected by Belgian prosecutors of bribing EU lawmakers.
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A man walks by the headquarters of Huawei in Brussels, Thursday, March
13, 2025. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy) |
The
European Parliament said on Friday that the decision to suspend
the access of Huawei lobbyists has been taken as a precautionary
measure, in line with its security rules. The decision takes
immediate effect.
Thursday's arrests came as an investigation by Le Soir newspaper
and other media revealed that lobbyists working for the Chinese
telecoms giant were suspected of bribing current or former
European Parliament members to promote the company’s commercial
policies in Europe.
About 100 federal police officers carried out 21 searches in
Brussels, the Flanders and Wallonia regions, and Portugal. The
investigating magistrate in charge of the case also asked for
seals to be placed on offices inside the EU Parliament allocated
to two parliamentary assistants allegedly involved.
Huawei said Thursday it is taking the allegations seriously and
that it would “urgently communicate” with investigators.
Huawei, which makes cellphones and is the biggest maker of
networking gear for phone and internet carriers, has been caught
in tensions between the United States and China over technology
and trade. Some European nations have followed Washington’s lead
and banned Huawei’s equipment from next-generation mobile
networks over allegations that it poses a security risk that
could help facilitate Chinese spying. The company has repeatedly
denied this.
The prosecutor’s office said it believes corruption started in
2021.
This is the second corruption case targeting the EU Parliament
in less than three years. In December 2022, the legislature was
shaken by a corruption scandal in which Qatari officials were
accused of bribing EU officials to play down labor rights
concerns ahead of the soccer World Cup. The scandal scarred the
reputation of the EU’s only institution comprised of officials
elected directly in the 27 member countries.
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