He approved free flights for himself and allowed himself to be courted with luxury travel. Now the former Director-General of the European Commission, Henrik Hololei, has been dismissed. This is the outcome of an internal investigation by the Commission and marks the first personnel consequence of the Qatargate affair within the European Commission.

In 2023, Politico and Libération revealed that Hololei had accepted free business-class flights from Qatar while his Directorate-General was negotiating an aviation agreement with the emirate between 2016 and 2021. Hololei approved these flights himself and unilaterally declared that there was no conflict of interest. It later emerged that he had also received luxury trips and other gifts for himself and his family from the Qatari government. In return, he is alleged to have passed on confidential documents to Qatari representatives and exerted influence over the negotiations.

Based on a report by the EU’s anti-fraud office OLAF, the Commission launched an internal investigation in March 2025. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has also opened criminal proceedings, which are still ongoing.

The Open Skies agreement negotiated by Hololei grants Qatar Airways access to all European airports. European airlines, by contrast, are granted access only to the Doha hub. Critics have long described the agreement as distorting competition.

Daniel Freund, Coordinator of the Greens in the Budgetary Control Committee, commented:

“It is good to see that the Commission is finally applying its own standards and drawing consequences from Qatargate. Hololei should have stepped down long ago. When Commission officials accept free flights worth tens of thousands of euros, that is unacceptable. The fact that Hololei failed to recognise the conflict of interest already disqualified him when the misconduct first came to light. His departure now also casts doubt on the agreement he negotiated. That agreement should be reviewed.

The Hololei case once again shows why the current system of self-policing within EU institutions does not work. We need independent oversight through an EU ethics body – also for Commission staff.”