Qatar has condemned Belgium’s corruption investigation and the suspension of the Gulf state’s access to the EU parliament, saying it could “harm” relations and natural gas supplies.

A Qatari diplomat issued a statement criticising Belgian authorities and claiming that “inaccurate” information was used. Eva Kaili, a Greek MEP, is one of four people charged in connection with cash seizures totalling at least 1.5 million euros. The funds were suspected to be linked to a Gulf state, and the EU parliament last week demanded that Qatar’s access to the institution be suspended.

According to Euractiv, the diplomat said, “The decision to impose such a discriminatory restriction that limits dialogue and cooperation on Qatar before the legal process has ended, will negatively affect regional and global security cooperation, as well as ongoing discussions around global energy poverty and security.

“We firmly reject the allegations associating our government with misconduct. Qatar was not the only party named in the investigation, yet our country has been exclusively criticised and attacked. We have observed this week’s selective condemnation of our country with great alarm. It is deeply disappointing that the Belgian government made no effort to engage with our government to establish the facts once they became aware of the allegations.”

Moroccan interests also reportedly risk being scrutinised in the investigation. Belgian prosecutors said they had been investigating EU parliament corruption for more than a year prior to the recent raids and arrests. The Qataris in the statement noted a “close” relationship with Belgium, saying that Qatar and Belgium cooperated during the COVID-19 pandemic and the middle-eastern nation was an important supplier of LNG to Belgium.

Kaili has been relieved of her duties as a vice president of the European Parliament. She and three other people have been charged with “criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering”.

The scandal has sent shockwaves through the EU parliament, prompting calls for a broad crackdown on dealings with third-country lobbyists. Qatar believes it has been unfairly singled out, with sentiment influenced by other allegations levelled against the wealthy Gulf state in connection with its hosting of the World Cup. “The decision to exclusively ban representatives from a single nation at the EU Parliament demonstrates that MEPs have been significantly misled.

“It is unfortunate that some acted on preconceived prejudices against Qatar and made their judgements based on the inaccurate information in the leaks rather than waiting for the investigation to conclude. It is unfortunate that some acted on preconceived prejudices against Qatar and made their judgements based on the inaccurate information in the leaks rather than waiting for the investigation to conclude,” the statement added.