The first mission after the scandal at Europarlamento-Corriere.it

The process of thawing ice in relations between the European Union and Qatar is going through Luigi Di Maio. The former president of Farnesina and the current representative of the European Union to the Gulf states is in Qatar and met today with the Prime Minister (and Minister of Foreign Affairs) Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani, a meeting that Di Maio resumed on his personal page on Twitter. This is the first “institutional” trip for a representative of the Union after the outbreak of the Qatargate case, with investigations into allegations of corruption by representatives of the Gulf state before members of the European Parliament.

Mission objective It is to restore relations and re-launch the partnership between the Union and Qatar. A delicate task after the scandal-related tensions that rocked the European Parliament. The union is currently moving through Di Maio around five themes: energy, trade, security (particularly counter-terrorism and cybersecurity), university partnerships and inter-institutional relations. All the main issues to re-establish a fruitful dialogue between the European Union and the Principality.

to the former foreign minister This is the first real test case in his new capacity as representative of the European Union. Di Maio is on a tour – face to face with the various foreign ministers as interlocutors – in the Gulf states: in early summer he visited Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, now he is in Qatar and in the next few days he will be in Oman. And in the Emirate of the Arabs. This is Di Mayo’s “first” tour, after his experiences in the Italian government, with his new European look. A second political life – for the time being – away from the limelight. The outbreak of the Qatargate affair has “delayed” the selection (and consequent nomination) of the EU Representative to the Gulf States in recent months. Among the alleged rumors relating to the investigation, there was also talk of pressure on the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, specifically to block Di Maio’s appointment. Ironically, fate begins with Qatar.