BRUSSELS — The European Commission launched an internal disciplinary probe into one of its senior officials, Henrik Hololei, over concerns he allegedly violated rules on conflicts of interest, transparency, gift acceptance and document disclosure, according to documents seen by POLITICO.
The internal probe comes five months after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal investigation into corruption allegations involving the Estonian politician Hololei. That criminal case was prompted by a report from French newspaper Libération, which revealed that Hololei — then a senior EU transport official — exchanged confidential details about a major aviation deal with Qatar in return for gifts for himself and his inner circle, including stays in a five-star hotel in Doha.
The claims were based on confidential findings from a 2023 inquiry by the European Anti-Fraud Office, which was triggered by POLITICO revelations and ended last year in the Commission recommending disciplinary proceedings.
Since then, Hololei took up a new role with a reduction in pay as Hors Classe Adviser at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships. He was notified on March 21 of this year that he faced an internal disciplinary procedure from the Commission, according to the documents seen by POLITICO.
“This internal disciplinary procedure is ongoing and is carried out within a reasonable period of time, account being taken of both the interests of the institution and of the person concerned,” a Commission spokesperson said when asked.
The Commission’s probe, overseen by Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin, examines “potential breaches” of four articles of the Commission’s staff regulation. These pertain to “unauthorized acceptance of gifts,” “conflict of interest,” “unauthorized disclosure of documents” and “breach of the rules on transparency and the Commission Guide to Missions,” per the document.
If a staffer is found to be in breach of the Commission’s internal regulations, penalties can range from a written reprimand to removal from their job and reduction in their pension payouts. (The Commission’s Investigation and Disciplinary Office oversees internal disciplinary proceedings involving the institution’s own staff.)
In a written response to questions from French Socialist member of the European Parliament Chloé Ridel late last year, Serafin wrote that there was no “evidence of criminal conduct” in the report on Hololei by the fraud office, which is also known as OLAF. Ridel then told POLITICO she was disappointed that the Commission hadn’t considered suspending an air travel agreement between the EU and Qatar that Hololei helped to negotiate.
“The Commission’s refusal to consider suspending the agreement … is particularly bold, especially at a time when European citizens’ trust in their institutions has already been severely shaken,” she said in a written statement on April 10.
Hololei did not reply to a written request for comment.
The Commission was previously criticized for not taking measures when handling the Hololei case, especially after EU prosecutors found grounds to open a criminal probe on the case.
Asked whether the decision to open their own investigation on Hololei was triggered by the prosecutor’s probe, the Commission’s spokesperson said the prosecutors “did not alert the Commission that an investigation was open on Hololei.”
The top EU prosecutor, which by nature doesn’t have to provide information on whom it investigates, did, however, confirm its probe publicly.
“We have no comment, since this is an ongoing EPPO investigation,” said a spokesperson from the public prosecutor’s office, which is also known as EPPO.
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