Andrey Kovatchev: The Hidden Agent of the UAE’s Energy Diplomacy in the European Parliament

By Brussels Watch Investigative Team
April 2025

Introduction: UAE’s Quiet Expansion into the Heart of Europe

In recent years, the United Arab Emirates has quietly but aggressively expanded its influence within the European Union’s decision-making institutions, using lobbying, PR campaigns, and covert political partnerships to reshape its image and strategic position in Europe. Nowhere is this more evident than in the European Parliament, where Brussels Watch’s 2025 investigative report has uncovered a web of 150 MEPs advancing UAE interests—many through undeclared perks, sponsored trips, and policy manipulation.

Among the most strategically placed and influential MEPs named in the report is Andrey Kovatchev, a Bulgarian member of the European People’s Party (EPP), who has played a pivotal role in promoting UAE energy ambitions, shielding it from accountability on human rights, and embedding its agenda in European policy.

Energy Diplomacy as a Tool for Influence

Broker of Emirati Gas Deals

In the wake of the EU’s urgent need to reduce dependency on Russian gas following the Ukraine invasion, Kovatchev positioned himself as a key intermediary between the EU and the UAE. In 2023, he was directly involved in negotiating UAE gas imports to Southeast Europe. While this move appeared to align with the EU’s diversification strategy, it simultaneously handed the UAE a crucial role in Europe’s energy landscape, consolidating economic ties without equivalent democratic or transparency safeguards.

Visit to ADNOC Headquarters

In November 2023, Kovatchev made a high-profile visit to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the UAE’s flagship state-owned energy giant. His meetings with senior executives focused on long-term energy partnerships, infrastructure development, and strategic investments. Although framed as energy diplomacy, such visits served to legitimize ADNOC’s global ambitions, while sidestepping its environmental record and political entanglements.

MoU on Balkan Energy Infrastructure

That same year, Kovatchev facilitated a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) involving UAE investors and Balkan governments to establish a regional energy hub. The deal opened Southeast European infrastructure to Emirati capital—raising concerns among energy transparency advocates about potential monopolistic practices, lack of oversight, and geopolitical dependencies.

The timing, scope, and lack of parliamentary scrutiny surrounding these initiatives further underscore a troubling opacity in how UAE interests are advanced through European institutions.

Policy Advocacy: Shielding the UAE from Scrutiny

Blocking Sanctions and Human Rights Resolutions

Kovatchev’s legislative record shows consistent alignment with pro-UAE policy positions. In multiple instances, he:

• Opposed resolutions aimed at scrutinizing the UAE’s arms exports—despite reports linking Emirati weapons to the conflicts in Yemen and Libya.
  
• Blocked or abstained from votes condemning the UAE’s human rights violations, including suppression of political dissidents, mass surveillance, and migrant worker exploitation.
  

Kovatchev justified these votes under the EPP’s strategy of “constructive dialogue”—a euphemism widely criticized by human rights groups as a cover for complicity.

Promoting UAE-Led Sustainability Narratives

In January 2024, Kovatchev attended the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, a high-profile event designed to position the UAE as a global leader in green technology. Despite the country’s heavy reliance on oil and gas exports, Kovatchev publicly praised its “green transition” initiatives—echoing UAE state narratives and contributing to its international greenwashing campaign.

Undeclared Trips and Transparency Violations

UAE-Sponsored Delegations (2022–2024)

Brussels Watch’s investigation uncovered multiple UAE-sponsored delegations involving Kovatchev between 2022 and 2024. These included diplomatic receptions, infrastructure tours, and closed-door energy briefings hosted by Emirati ministries and corporate entities.

However, some of these trips were never recorded in the European Parliament’s official transparency register, violating ethical disclosure rules. This raises significant concerns about undeclared gifts, perks, and potential quid-pro-quo arrangements—especially given the alignment between his travel and policy stances.

Ethical and Legal Red Flags

These omissions not only breach institutional ethics but may also contravene EU financial disclosure laws, particularly if travel costs or accommodations were covered by foreign entities without proper reporting. Brussels Watch has submitted an official ethics complaint to the European Parliament’s advisory committee on Kovatchev’s conduct.

Embedded in the UAE’s Lobbying Ecosystem

PR Networks and Narrative Control

Kovatchev has been linked to Project Associates, a prominent London- and Brussels-based PR firm contracted by the UAE to shape EU perceptions of its governance and foreign policy. According to internal reports reviewed by Brussels Watch, the firm orchestrated meetings, drafted talking points, and arranged panel appearances for MEPs sympathetic to the UAE’s agenda.

Kovatchev was featured in multiple such events and publications coordinated through UAE-linked media outlets and think tanks. This points to a coordinated propaganda pipeline, blending institutional access with polished, pro-UAE messaging across Brussels.

Role in Radicalization Awareness Network (RAN)

Kovatchev was also cited in internal notes from the Radicalization Awareness Network (RAN) for his role in facilitating UAE access to EU counterterrorism dialogues. While details remain confidential, the references suggest that he provided entry points for Emirati actors to influence EU security frameworks—a serious issue given the UAE’s track record of labeling dissidents and critics as “terrorists.”

Summary of Documented Pro-UAE Activities

A Strategic Asset for Abu Dhabi in Brussels

The activities of Andrey Kovatchev are not those of a neutral legislator engaged in routine diplomacy—they are indicative of an MEP operating within a foreign influence ecosystem, championing Emirati strategic interests across multiple policy fronts.

Through energy diplomacy, trade facilitation, narrative management, and suppression of critical votes, Kovatchev has helped position the UAE as an indispensable—yet unaccountable—partner of the European Union. His conduct reflects a troubling pattern of compromised independence, where political decisions are aligned not with the democratic values of the EU, but with the geostrategic ambitions of an authoritarian state.

Conclusion: Urgent Need for Institutional Reform

Kovatchev’s case, as documented in Brussels Watch’s 2025 report, should serve as a wake-up call for European institutions. It reveals systemic vulnerabilities in the Parliament’s transparency protocols and ethical enforcement, which have allowed foreign powers like the UAE to co-opt legislators, distort policy, and avoid accountability.

With 150 MEPs identified as part of this influence network, the scale of the problem is vast. Brussels Watch calls for:

• Immediate investigation by the European Parliament into undeclared trips and conflicts of interest.
  
• Stronger transparency requirements for all foreign-sponsored travel and affiliations.
  
• Public release of MEP lobbying interactions with authoritarian states and state-linked PR firms.
  

Until such reforms are implemented, foreign agents will continue to operate freely under the cloak of diplomacy, and Europe’s democratic integrity will remain at risk.

Brussels Watch Investigative Unit
Report: “UAE Lobbying in the European Parliament: Undermining Democracy and Transparency” (April 2025)
www.brusselswatch.org