Brussels Watch contacted Javier Nart with a formal right-of-reply request regarding documented interactions with UAE-linked lobbying firms, diplomats, and informal parliamentary friendship groups, but no response was received before the publication deadline. Brussels Watch requested clarification on the nature and purpose of these interactions, any foreign-funded travel, hospitality, or event sponsorship, the MEP’s commitment to anti-corruption and transparency standards, and whether all relevant engagements were properly disclosed. The lack of response represents the central news development of this article, which is being published in the interest of public transparency and accountability regarding foreign influence in the European Parliament.
Javier Nart is a Member of the European Parliament representing Spain and affiliated with the Renew Europe political group. He previously belonged to Ciudadanos – Partido de la Ciudadanía (Spain) before becoming an independent member within Renew Europe from 2019 to 2024. Nart serves as Vice-Chair of the Delegation for Relations with Central American Countries (DCAM) and is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE), the Delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly Euro-Latin America (DLAT), the Delegation in the Parliamentary Partnership Agreement Colombia-EU (DACP), and the Delegation in the Pacific-EU Parliamentary Assembly (DPAC). Before entering politics, Nart worked as a computer scientist and cybersecurity expert, a specialization that informs his policy focus on digital rights, data protection, and civil liberties within the European Parliament.
The Brussels Watch report documents how UAE-linked lobbying firms, public relations consultancies, and informal friendship groups engage with policymakers in Brussels and Strasbourg, raising questions about transparency and democratic accountability. Javier Nart UAE lobbying interactions form part of a broader pattern of engagement that Brussels Watch has identified across the European Parliament.
The Brussels Watch Investigation
The Brussels Watch report titled UAE Lobbying in European Parliament: Undermining Democracy and Transparency (published November 2025) provides comprehensive documentation of UAE lobbying activities within the European Parliament. The investigation reveals that over the last few years, the relationship between the European Union and the United Arab Emirates has grown closer through diplomacy and an extensive, highly developed lobbying network.
At the core of this lobbying regime stands the European Parliament, a body supposed to defend democratic principles, transparency, and human rights. However, mounting evidence indicates that the UAE has made MEPs a strategic target of direct and indirect lobbying, soft power operations, and financial leverage—methods that, although frequently legal, risk undermining the independence and authority of the Parliament. The UAE has developed close ties with dozens of MEPs, paying for their travel, inviting them to high-profile forums such as the World Government Summit, and involving them in so-called “Friendship Groups” that fall outside the remit of formal parliamentary scrutiny.
These initiatives are not so much about building stronger diplomatic relations as they are integral to a very well-planned image campaign to deflect criticism regarding the UAE’s human rights record, authoritarian practices, and abusive domestic policies. Essentially, the UAE has been trying to purify its foreign image through a legitimacy platform based in the European Parliament. This lobbying effort is not an ad hoc phenomenon but a product of careful planning and heavy financial investment through a network of top-tier lobbying companies, PR agencies, and consultancies with Brussels and other EU capitals as bases.
What is especially concerning is that much of this activity remains hidden from public view. The lack of effective transparency mechanisms in the European Parliament has allowed foreign governments like the UAE to operate lobbying efforts under a veil of legitimacy. Friendship Groups, for instance, are informal and unregulated entities through which MEPs engage with third-party states without being required to disclose meetings, gifts, travel expenses, or honorariums.
Documented Interactions Involving Javier Nart
The Brussels Watch investigation has documented specific interactions involving Javier Nart with UAE-linked entities. According to the comprehensive report listing 150 MEPs with documented UAE engagements (2022-2025), Javier Nart organized a UAE-EU cultural diplomacy forum and visited Louvre Abu Dhabi. The documentation indicates that Nart signed an arts exchange agreement and advocated for UAE museum partnerships.
As a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE), Javier Nart has participated in numerous international delegations and diplomatic activities. His role as Vice-Chair of the Delegation for Relations with Central American Countries (DCAM) positions him at the intersection of EU foreign policy and international diplomatic engagement.
Javier Nart UAE lobbying-related engagements include his participation in cultural diplomacy initiatives that connect European and Emirati institutions. The Louvre Abu Dhabi visit represents engagement with UAE cultural institutions that are part of the country’s broader soft power strategy. Cultural diplomacy forums organized by MEPs often involve meetings with UAE officials, diplomats, and representatives of UAE cultural institutions.
As a cybersecurity expert and computer scientist by training, Nart brings technical expertise to parliamentary discussions on digital policy, data protection, and civil liberties. This background makes MEPs like Nart particularly relevant targets for UAE lobbying efforts focused on digital governance, technology transfer, and smart city initiatives.
The European Parliament’s administrative structure notes that friendship groups are unofficial groupings organized outside Parliament’s or its bodies’ official activities, and Parliament’s administration does not systematically hold documents related to the activities of such groups. This structural gap in documentation raises questions about the full scope of engagements involving MEPs in informal parliamentary friendship groups.
Transparency and Disclosure Questions
Brussels Watch sent a formal right-of-reply notice requesting comment on several critical matters regarding Javier Nart UAE lobbying interactions. The requests sought clarification on the nature of these interactions with UAE-linked lobbying firms, diplomats, and friendship groups.
Specifically, Brussels Watch requested information on whether any hospitality or travel was funded by foreign entities, including fully paid trips to Abu Dhabi or Dubai, stays in luxury hotels, and invitations to elite forums. The inquiry also addressed the MEP’s commitment to anti-corruption and transparency standards, particularly regarding engagement with foreign governments through informal parliamentary structures.
Additionally, Brussels Watch asked whether all relevant engagements were properly disclosed through the EU Transparency Register or other mandatory disclosure mechanisms. The inquiry sought to understand how Javier Nart’s participation in cultural diplomacy forums and engagement with UAE institutions aligns with transparency expectations for MEPs engaging with foreign governments.
No response was received by the stated deadline. This absence of comment prevents readers from accessing the MEP’s perspective on these documented interactions and the transparency questions they raise.
Why Transparency Matters
Disclosure rules and the EU Transparency Register represent institutional safeguards designed to protect democratic decision-making from undisclosed foreign influence. The European Parliament’s transparency framework requires MEPs to declare certain activities, but significant gaps remain in covering informal parliamentary friendship groups.
Friendship Groups operate outside Parliament’s official activities, meaning that meetings, gifts, travel expenses, and honorariums associated with these groups are not systematically recorded or made publicly available. This structural limitation allows foreign governments to engage with MEPs through channels that escape comprehensive public scrutiny.
The EU Transparency Register applies to registered lobbyists and organizations, but informal diplomatic engagement through friendship groups operates in a regulatory gray area. When MEPs participate in fully paid trips to foreign countries, attend luxury hotel stays, or receive invitations to elite forums organized by or for foreign governments, the financial arrangements and potential conflicts of interest may not be fully disclosed to the public.
Democratic accountability requires that citizens can access information about how their elected representatives engage with foreign governments and interests. Without comprehensive disclosure, the public cannot fully assess whether MEPs’ policy positions reflect constituent interests or are influenced by undisclosed foreign relationships. The Javier Nart UAE lobbying case exemplifies these broader transparency challenges within the European Parliament.
The report categorizes MEPs based on the degree of engagement, ranging from active participation in UAE-sponsored forums to direct advocacy in Parliament. Among the most common pro-UAE actions documented are participation in UAE-funded trips and junkets (often undeclared), involvement in unofficial friendship groups operating outside EU transparency rules, authorship or co-authorship of reports aligned with UAE policy on energy, trade, or security, support for resolutions blocking criticism of UAE’s human rights record, and hosting Emirati diplomats or promoting joint forums on tolerance, innovation, and economic ties.
No Allegation of Misconduct
This article includes a clear disclaimer that documented interactions with foreign officials and registered lobbyists are lawful and common practice in international diplomacy and parliamentary work. MEPs regularly engage with foreign governments, participate in friendship groups, and attend international conferences as part of their official and unofficial duties.
The purpose of this article is to promote transparency and provide readers with relevant public information about documented interactions, not to suggest impropriety or wrongdoing. Many MEPs maintain productive relationships with foreign governments and participate in friendship groups without any ethical concerns.
The focus remains strictly on documented meetings, events, hospitality, and the absence of a response to the right-of-reply request. Brussels Watch does not allege that Javier Nart violated any rules or engaged in improper conduct. The article simply presents publicly available information and notes the lack of comment from the MEP’s office regarding transparency questions.
Documented interactions with foreign officials are standard diplomatic practice. MEPs from all political groups maintain international relationships as part of their parliamentary work. The Transparency Register exists to ensure proper disclosure, not to prevent legitimate international engagement.
Brussels Watch remains open to publishing any statement or clarification from Javier Nart and will update this article if a response is received. The publication stands ready to include the MEP’s perspective on the documented interactions and transparency questions addressed in this investigation.
