After two years of proceedings, the European Commission has dismissed senior official Henrik Hololei, finding him guilty of violating rules and accepting expensive gifts from Qatar Airways.
According to the European bureau Report, EC Vice-President Henna Varkkunen announced the dismissal at a press conference in Brussels without naming names.
‘The European Commission has completed disciplinary proceedings against a senior official,’ Varkkunen said.
Details were later shared unofficially by the European Commission, which said that the dismissal took place after an internal investigation found him guilty of violating rules on conflicts of interest, transparency, acceptance of gifts and disclosure of documents during his tenure as Director-General of the EC’s Directorate-General for Transport.
Khololei left this position in March 2023 but continued to work for the Commission as an advisor.
The scandal broke earlier, after the newspaper Libération reported that the official had exchanged confidential information about a major aviation deal with Qatar Airways for gifts.
At the time, the high-ranking Estonian representative to the EU was enjoying long-haul flights financed by Qatar with his entire family.
