It comes after POLITICO revealed last year that the former director-general of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport had taken free flights from Qatar while negotiating a major aviation deal with the Gulf country.

The newspaper said that the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) identified that Qatar had offered dozens of business-class flights and even paid vacations, valued at tens of thousands of euros to Hololei is his former role.

These offerings were reportedly in exchange for confidential information related to the "Open Skies" agreement negotiations from 2016 to 2019. This agreement granted Qatar Airways unrestricted access to all EU airports starting in 2021—a notably generous arrangement that provided limited reciprocal benefits to European companies, according to Libération.

The alleged corruption scandal is unprecedented at such a high level of authority, Libération stressed, referencing a confidential OLAF report that the newspaper reviewed.

It also noted that, for unknown reasons, the European Commission has not yet reached out to either the European Public Prosecutor's Office or Belgian law enforcement, both of which are competent to handle cases of this nature.

However, this potentially damaging document has reportedly been on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's desk since July.

OLAF started an investigation into Hololei last March.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!