Hololei to take pay cut after changing jobs in Brussels

Henrik Hololei. Photo: Eero Vabamägi

According to Politico, European Commission official Henrik Hololei will take a pay cut in his new role as a top adviser at the department in charge of international partnerships.

Hololei was forced out as the EU’s top transport official following Politico's revelations that he accepted free flights on Qatar Airways while his team negotiated a major aviation deal with the Gulf state.

In his new job, the Estonian official will maintain his top rank on the Commission's pay grade but will have to give up the so-called management allowance, which only applies to jobs with management responsibility and, according to an EU official, accounts for 4.2 percent of the total salary.

Last week, the EU’s anti-fraud office, formally known as OLAF, opened an investigation into Hololei following Politico's revelations that he accepted free flights on Qatar Airways.

The OLAF probe is the latest development in the weekslong saga that began in late February when Politico reported that Hololei had flown business class for free on Qatar Airways nine times between 2015 and 2021, according to details obtained through freedom of information requests. Six of the free flights occurred while the EU and Doha were hammering out their aviation agreement. And four of the flights were paid for by the Qatari government or a group with links to Qatar.