Former EU Commissioner challenges European arrest warrant in Qatargate case

Dimitris Avramopoulos, a former European Commissioner from Greece, officially petitioned Greece's Supreme Court on Thursday to block the execution of a European arrest warrant issued against him by Belgian authorities. Avramopoulos, who currently serves as a lawmaker for the ruling conservative party New Democracy, denies any wrongdoing and questions the legal basis for the warrant.

In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Avramopoulos argued that the warrant fails to specify with the required detail the location, time, and circumstances of the alleged acts, as mandated by Greek and European law. He also contends that the warrant does not properly reference the national court decision or arrest warrant on which the European warrant is based.

As previously reported, Belgium issued the European arrest warrant for the former EU migration commissioner in connection with the corruption scandal known as Qatargate. In February of this year, the Belgian Indictment Chamber rejected the arguments of the suspects in the scandal, allowing the investigation to proceed.