French minister Marlene Schiappa has criticised Malta’s EU commissioner for meeting a youth group with Muslim Brotherhood links, which she claims is "attacking France" and "infiltrating our very institutions".
Helena Dalli, Commissioner for Equality, tweeted about a meeting with the Forum Of European Muslim Youth And Student Organisations (Femyso) last Wednesday.
The daughter of Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood leader Rachid Ghannouchi, Intissar Kherigi, has held the presidency of Femyso, the youth arm of the Council of European Muslims, formerly the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe, and believed to be the Muslim Brotherhood's European branch.
A Femyso campaign this month on hijabs was pulled by the European Commission after a backlash from France, which was the first European country to ban the full-face veil in public places.
Ms Dalli said she met the group to discuss issues of discrimination.
"I had a discussion with @FEMYSO on the situation of young Muslims in Europe and the challenges experienced as a result of stereotyping, discrimination and outright hatred," she tweeted.
"We must challenge all forms of discrimination affecting Europeans."
Ms Schiappa said she would be referring the meeting to the European Commission.
“We’re referring [the matter] to the Commission … in order to fight against these Islamist associations that are attacking France and are infiltrating our very institutions,” she told Europe 1.
A representative for Ms Dalli said the meeting took place after it was requested by Femyso.
“The commissioner spoke about the European Commission’s commitment to address racism as indicated in the anti-racism strategy, including its impacts on Muslims,” the representative told Politico.
French Secretary of State for Europe, Clement Beaune, said the meeting was “absurd” and retweeted a comment accusing Femyso of being a "puppet" of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Femyso denies any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
A report last month written by analysts for Austria's Documentation Centre for Political Islam concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood had established vast influence in Europe and public bodies were unwittingly funding its activities. "Leadership positions within FEMYSO are generally occupied by children of some of the most senior leaders of the European Brotherhood milieu," it said.
The report quoted the French scholar Gilles Kepel who attended the meeting that set up the group a quarter of a century ago. “I was surprised to see how the youth conference was controlled by the Islamists,” Mr Kepel told a Swedish newspaper at the time. “They are well-organised, intelligent, and have a built-up contact network throughout Europe. With this, they succeeded in taking control over the youth conference, even though they are in the minority among Muslims in Europe.”1
Founded in Egypt in the 1920s, the Muslim Brotherhood is classed as a terrorist group in several Arab countries but has close ties to Turkey. Its presence in Europe is thought to date back to the 1960s.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
