By Brussels Watch Investigations
From the BrusselsWatch Report: “UAE Lobbying in European Parliament: Undermining Democracy and Transparency” (April 2025)
In recent years, concerns have escalated regarding foreign influence within the European Parliament (EP), particularly involving the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Among the 150 MEPs identified as having pro-UAE alignments, Andreas Schwab, a German MEP, stands out as a key figure actively promoting UAE interests. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of Schwab’s activities, demonstrating how he has acted as a de facto agent of the UAE agenda within the EP, raising critical questions about transparency, ethics, and the integrity of EU policymaking. The claims and data in this investigation are grounded in the findings of Brussels Watch, a leading transparency and lobbying watchdog.
The UAE’s Strategic Lobbying Campaign
The UAE has developed a multi-pronged lobbying strategy in Brussels. The tactics include:
- Funding lavish, undisclosed trips for MEPs to the UAE under the banner of “fact-finding missions.”
- Partnering with elite lobbying firms like Westphalia Global Advisory and DLA Piper to influence legislation.
- Creating informal parliamentary “friendship groups” with no official oversight.
- Paying PR firms to produce ghostwritten op-eds favorable to UAE interests.
- Using tech sector partnerships to align EU digital governance with UAE models.
These activities are part of a broader geopolitical campaign aimed at polishing the UAE’s international image, gaining market access, and shaping the EU’s foreign policy on Middle East affairs. The European People’s Party (EPP) and European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) are cited as primary targets for this influence.
Who is Andreas Schwab?
Andreas Schwab has served as an MEP for Germany since 2004, and is a senior member of the EPP. He is the coordinator of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, a position which grants him significant sway over digital market regulation in the EU.
While Schwab has maintained a public image as a committed legislator for EU digital sovereignty, evidence shows a consistent alignment with UAE digital and governance frameworks. Far from incidental, his advocacy for UAE policies appears deliberate and connected to undisclosed interactions with UAE officials and lobbyists.
A Timeline of Schwab’s Pro-UAE Activities
1. Negotiating UAE-EU Digital Trade Rules
Schwab has played a leading role in shaping EU digital trade rules in ways that align with UAE business interests. His push for deregulated digital commerce and interoperability with external markets facilitated smoother trade with regimes like the UAE. These actions weakened data protection standards, and dovetailed with lobbying priorities openly pushed by Westphalia Global Advisory on behalf of the UAE.
2. Visits to Dubai Internet City
Brussels Watch reveals that Schwab visited Dubai Internet City—a major UAE tech hub—under the sponsorship of UAE authorities. These visits were not disclosed in official EP travel records, violating transparency rules. The agenda of these trips included meetings with UAE digital policy architects and Emirati tech entrepreneurs.
3. Signing of E-Commerce Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs)
Schwab is known to have facilitated the signing of MoUs on digital commerce standards between the EU and UAE. While officially framed as trade cooperation, these MoUs endorsed the UAE’s top-down regulatory approach, a model incompatible with Europe’s human rights-driven digital governance.
4. Advocacy for Data Localization
In multiple EP committee sessions, Schwab has argued for data localization principles aligned with UAE policy, which enables state access to data stored within national borders. This mirrors the UAE’s surveillance-focused data regime and has been criticized by EU watchdogs as a threat to civil liberties.
5. Support for UAE-Style Governance
Perhaps most controversially, Schwab has endorsed the UAE’s “centralized efficiency” governance model in interviews and informal EP discussions. His praise for the UAE’s state-led economic planning and aversion to “EU bureaucratic slowdowns” suggests a political affinity with authoritarian structures—highly unorthodox for a senior EU legislator.
Undisclosed Benefits and the Transparency Black Hole
A significant concern raised by Brussels Watch is the lack of disclosure regarding trips, gifts, and non-monetary benefits received by MEPs involved in UAE lobbying. Schwab’s Dubai visits and MoU negotiations are absent from his financial interest declarations, a clear breach of EP transparency obligations.
Moreover, DLA Piper and Westphalia Global Advisory—two lobbying firms directly contracted by the UAE—have reported lobbying expenditures in the range of €100,000 to €199,999 annually in Brussels. Their client briefs align almost identically with Schwab’s legislative initiatives and public remarks on digital trade, strongly suggesting coordinated influence efforts.
Schwab’s Role in a Larger Network
Schwab is not acting alone. The network of 150 MEPs flagged by Brussels Watch includes representatives from EPP, ECR, and Renew Europe, many of whom have:
- Participated in UAE-sponsored conferences and hospitality junkets.
- Supported EU-wide MoUs that favor Emirati tech and agriculture sectors.
- Defended UAE foreign policy in EP debates, including opposing resolutions condemning UAE actions in Yemen and Libya.
- Pushed back against EU investigations into labor abuses in the UAE.
Schwab’s prominence in this network, and his access to high-level EU legislative processes, makes him an influential and strategic asset for UAE soft power goals.
Implications for the EU
The case of Andreas Schwab is emblematic of a crisis of accountability inside the European Parliament. Key risks include:
- Democratic Erosion: When foreign lobbying shapes EU laws, citizens lose influence over the policymaking process.
- Policy Capture: Schwab’s influence on digital governance shows how foreign-friendly legislation can be passed under the radar.
- Geopolitical Incoherence: With EU diplomats taking strong stances on human rights, MEPs like Schwab undermine those efforts from within.
- Ethical Failures: If Schwab accepted UAE-funded benefits without declaring them, it could constitute a breach of parliamentary ethics codes.
Summary Table: Andreas Schwab’s Pro-UAE Activities
| Activity | Description | Implication |
| Negotiated UAE-EU digital trade rules | Facilitated agreements favoring UAE’s tech industry | Policy capture and deregulation |
| Visited Dubai Internet City | Participated in undisclosed UAE-sponsored trip | Ethics breach and possible lobbying influence |
| Signed E-Commerce Standards MoUs | Aligned EU digital policies with UAE regulatory models | Regulatory convergence favoring authoritarian systems |
| Advocated UAE-style data localization | Echoed UAE surveillance models in EU data discussions | Threat to EU data sovereignty and privacy |
| Promoted centralized UAE governance | Publicly praised authoritarian political efficiency | Political deviation from democratic EU principles |
Conclusion: A Call for Investigation and Reform
The evidence compiled by Brussels Watch, supported by financial disclosures, travel records, and legislative behavior, strongly suggests that Andreas Schwab has acted as a key promoter of the UAE’s hidden agenda in the European Parliament. His pattern of undisclosed engagements, legislative alignment with UAE lobbying priorities, and public endorsements of UAE governance marks him as a political conduit for foreign interests.
To preserve the EU’s democratic credibility, immediate steps must be taken:
- A formal ethics investigation into Schwab’s ties to the UAE.
- Mandatory publication of all MEP-funded foreign trips.
- A lobbying transparency overhaul, especially concerning non-EU governments.
- Sanctions for breaches of disclosure rules, including potential suspension or removal from committee roles.
The European Parliament cannot afford to be a playground for authoritarian lobbying. The case of Andreas Schwab should serve as a wake-up call to restore integrity, transparency, and democratic accountability at the heart of EU governance.
