Members of the UAE-EU Parliamentary Friendship Group have been playing an active role in influencing the decisions of EU authorities in the favor of United Arab Emirates. The group has been established in Brussels by spanish MEP Antonio López-Istúriz White who has been lobbying vigorously for the autocratic Emirates. The Friendship Group has a UAE shadow body headed by Sarah Mohammed Falkinaz. She is the Chairperson of the Group (from the Emirates side) and has been leading the group for many years now. The group has been established to boost the interest of UAE in brussels then across Europe wirh local national parliaments. Indeed, the group has obtained large sums of Money from UAE government estimated of €1.5 million in 2022, €900,000 in 2021, 1.1 million in 2020. Many trips were organised under the umbrella of the group and MEPs were paid in cash and sometimes though NGOs in Europe loyal to UAE.
From the EU side Alexander Radwan, a Member of the German Bundestag has been playing an active role in the lobbying activities carried out. The two organization leaders met in a meeting and discussed the importance of strengthening their parliamentary cooperation. They also shared views on issues of mutual concern and were seen exchanging expertise, knowledge, and other issues related to the two nations.
MEPs members of EU-UAE Friendship Group Is reinforcing (Some MEPs did nor declare membership)
Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ MEP
Radosław SIKORSKI MEP
Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE MEP
Andrey KOVATCHEV MEP
Željana ZOVKO MEP
David CASA MEP
Siegfried MUREŞAN MEP
Traian BĂSESCU MEP
Iuliu WINKLER MEP
Edina TÓTH MEP
David McALLISTER MEP
Georgios KYRTSOS MEP
Sven SIMON MEP
Manolis KEFALOGIANNIS MEP
Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU MEP
Ryszard CZARNECKI MEP
Witold Jan WASZCZYKOWSKI MEP
Jan ZAHRADIL MEP
Christian SAGARTZ MEP
Sergio BERLATO MEP
Claudiu MANDA MEP
Matteo ADINOLFI MEP
Bernard GUETTA MEP
Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE MEP
Henna VIRKKUNEN MEP
Caroline NAGTEGAAL MEP
José Ramón BAUZÁ DÍAZ MEP
Mick WALLACE MEP
Urmas PAET MEP
Hannah NEUMANN MEP
Bernd LANGE MEP
Sergei STANISHEV MEP
Ismail ERTUG MEP
Predrag Fred MATIĆ MEP
Raphaël GLUCKSMANN MEP
EU-UAE Friendship Group Is reinforcing The Relations Between EU and UAE
EU-UAE Friendship Group is a leading force that has been aiding in building a strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the EU. The organization leaders have been reinforcing the deep-rooted relations between the UAE and Germany for a long time now.
The relationship between the two nations dates back 50 years and it seems as if the bond is getting stronger with each passing day. The existence of the UAE lobby has become a part of the global realpolitik and the UAE has been taking control of all the foreign agendas by getting the aid of the EU-UAE Friendship group.
The Scale Of Lobbying Is On All-Time High
UAE’s lobbying activities have been at an all-time high. Transparency is absent in the decision-making of Germany and other European nations. This has raised a lot of concerns and all have pointed toward heavy lobbying.
It is difficult to estimate the scale of the UAE’s lobbying because there seems to be a lot of deficiency in the transparency rule of the EU systems. The EU institutions have been favoring UAE in many areas and a lot of things are questionable.
EU doesn’t require any third parties to register the UAE lobbying activities but it seems as if there are no laws that will keep track of any lobbying activities going on. These lobbying activities secretly carried out by the UAE have no records.
There are no records of meetings and it has become almost impossible to get access to any records anywhere. The UAE Lobbying has put a serious impact on the policies of the EU. They seem to be favoring UAE in all major areas and this has raised a lot of questions.
Clear Signs Of Secret Funding Are Apparent
Many secret consultancies have been receiving funds from the UAE. The policy centers have no records of any funding and the UAE political establishment is taking benefit of that. It can be difficult to prove that the funds received come from the Emirates. However, many clear indicators indicate that millions of dollars have been funded with the help of the EU-UAE Friendship group. All of these incidents have posed serious questions and pointed toward secret lobbying activities going on. There are clear signs of funds being transferred but there is no proof that can prove it.
UAE Lobbying Has A Prominent Impact On The European Parliament Members
The lack of transparency has indicated that secret lobbying adverse consequences in the past few years as well. These impacts have become prominent in the European parliament as many MEPs have been sliding with UAE. EU-UAE Friendship Group has rejected all the resolutions and amendments that can cause critical and unfavorable conditions for the Emirates. European Parliament members Angelika Winzig, Simone Schmiedtbauer, and Lukas Mandl are influenced by the EU-UAE Friendship Group and have been supporting UAE.
It is typically noted that the conservative right-hand parties are voting in the favor of the Emirates. These are parties that are also siding with the narrative on the political Islam theories. The Friendship Group, views are aligned with the UAE and this has been noted in various open discussions held by the EU-UAE Friendship Group in recent times. There is no solid proof that can indicates the lobbying finds or activities but it cannot be denied that secret lobbying has been leaving a serious impact on the European Union decision-making process.
