He announced today that he temporarily prohibits access to his buildings in Brussels and Strasbourg to all Huawei Group representatives and representatives, as he is considered to defend his interests.
This is a “precautionary measure” with “immediate power,” a European Parliament spokesman told the French Agency.
The Chinese group currently has nine accredited representatives, according to the Register of the Institution’s Transparency, and therefore they are licensed to meet with MEPs.
Today’s decision comes the next day after a wave of police investigations and arrests in the context of a Belgian justice investigation.
The Belgian Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office announced yesterday that 21 investigations were conducted throughout Belgium and three in Portugal.
As it became known from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the responsible investigator requested that the European Parliament be sealed in both Brussels and Strasbourg, and in particular the offices allocated to two parliamentary assistants involved in the case of the investigation, which was revealed by the LEGI The European Parliament in order to promote the commercial policy of the Chinese company in Europe.
Authorities have made many arrests, including one in France of a suspect that targeted a European arrest warrant issued by the Belgian judicial system.
However, the identities of the detainees have not been released, nor the exact number of those in Brussels.
Corruption practices “under the guise of commercial lobbing”
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, corruption practices have been “regular” and “very discreet” since 2021, “under the pretext of commercial lobbing” and practices take various forms, such as pay for political positions or even “gifts excessive” such as nutrition and travel costs or travelers.
A former Slovenian MEP, whose name is circulating in the press as a possible suspect, denied the charges.
In an interview with the Slovenian media, Frank Bogovic, a former European People’s Party MEP, admitted that he had been invited by the Chinese group to conferences and participated with her in a high -speed internet program but did not work.
In 2023, Brussels was described as the Chinese telecommunications giant as the greatest risk for EU Member States by all 5G providers, inviting them to exclude Huawei equipment from their mobile networks.
Last year, Germany announced its intention to ban the use of components and technologies by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in its 5G networks by the end of 2026. Berlin had promoted “security” reasons.
