EU lawmakers demand answers on Chinese firms' links to Brussels' response to belt and road
EU lawmakers have written to Brussels authorities demanding to know how Chinese state-linked companies were given roles advising the bloc's answer to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.
A cross-party group of European Parliament members sent a list of questions to the European Commission on Thursday asking whether the firms will be excluded from the Global Gateway Business Advisory Board "within the context of de-risking from China", according to correspondence that was shared with the Post.
They asked whether the commission "did not even undertake a basic verification or check of its board members, and how will it mitigate this shortcoming in the future", and demanded a full list of businesses involved in Global Gateway.
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The grilling comes in response to an exclusive report by the Post last month that found that the advisory board was opened to one firm whose biggest shareholder is a Chinese state-owned enterprise and a second firm with minority Chinese investment.
China Three Gorges Corp, a state-owned enterprise, is the largest shareholder of Energias de Portugal SA, which is advising the European Commission on Global Gateway strategy. Photo: Handout alt=China Three Gorges Corp, a state-owned enterprise, is the largest shareholder of Energias de Portugal SA, which is advising the European Commission on Global Gateway strategy. Photo: Handout>
In October, the Post revealed that Energias de Portugal SA (EDP) was among the companies that will advise the commission on "implementation of the Global Gateway strategy and scaling up of Global Gateway flagship", even though its largest shareholder, China Three Gorges (CTG), is a Chinese state-owned enterprise.
As EDP's biggest shareholder, CTG - which is supervised by the Chinese government's State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) - owns its largest voting rights.
SASAC "is an institution that is responsible for carrying out the obligations assigned by the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee", according to Datenna, a Dutch intelligence firm. A second member company, the French satellite company Eutelsat, also retains Chinese investment.
Dutch centrist Renew MEP Bart Groothuis, who was involved in the parliament's request, said the European Court of Auditors should "look into" the inclusion of EDP on the list.