The case at the Athens Court of Appeal concerning the European arrest warrant against New Democracy MP and former European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos is being closed, as the competent Belgian Authority proceeded with its withdrawal.
The warrant had been issued in the context of the Belgian judiciary's investigation into the so-called Qatargate case. After Mr. Avramopoulos appeared in person before the issuing Authority in Brussels, where he was questioned as part of the investigation, the order was withdrawn.
Following this development, according to judicial procedure, the grounds for executing the warrant ceased to exist and the relevant file of the Greek judicial authorities is being closed. The procedure had previously moved forward after Parliament's permission for its execution, with the consent of Mr. Avramopoulos himself.
The 73-year-old Dimitris Avramopoulos, an MP of the ruling party, New Democracy, served as European Commissioner for Migration from 2014 to 2019 and previously as mayor of Athens. He has categorically denied any illegal act.
The background of the warrant
The arrest warrant had been issued by the Belgian judiciary in June 2026, in the context of the investigation into Qatargate. The investigation by the Belgian authorities concerned, among other things, Dimitris Avramopoulos's relationship with the non-governmental organization Fight Impunity, which was founded by former Italian MEP Antonio Panzeri, one of the central figures in the case.
Dimitris Avramopoulos participated in the organization's honorary board during the period 2020-2021, after the end of his term at the European Commission.
He has argued that his cooperation with Fight Impunity was entirely lawful and that the relevant payments had been declared to the tax authorities.
“My participation in the Fight Impunity organization was entirely lawful, audited, approved, declared and taxed”, he himself had stated when the warrant became known in June.
Source: euronews.com