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The European Parliament is “investigating allegations” that some of its members were paid by a Russian propaganda network that was thwarted by Czech authorities earlier this week, the European Parliament’s press office confirmed to Euronews.
advertisementThis comes as Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said on Thursday that Russia had approached EU lawmakers to “promote Russian propaganda” in Europe and asked for money as part of an operation uncovered by the Czech investigation. This was after he stated that he had been paying .
Congressional officials could not confirm how many members would be subject to surveillance, but said Friday they were working “in coordination with our institutional partners” in response to the explosive allegations.
in letter addressed to Valerie Heyer, head of the centrist group Renew Europe, told parliament president Roberta Mezzola that the allegations were a “clear attack” on parliament and its “democratic mission”.
“If current members of parliament or candidates for the upcoming European elections have accepted money from or committed corruption from the Russian government or its agents, they must be exposed,” Hyer said.
With just over two months left until EU voters head to the polls to elect 720 members of the European Parliament, concerns grow that Kremlin proxies are using information manipulation to skew the vote for pro-democracy parties. This day is drawing near.
parliamentary green party group I also weighedcalled for a “prompt and thorough” investigation into election candidates regarding “Putin’s salary.”
Terry Reinke, one of the Green Party’s leading candidates for the next general election, said, “Politicians who receive funds from Russia should be severely punished both politically and legally.”
Maximilian Kula of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)spoke with X**According to a Czech investigation, after being linked to the Voice of Europe news agency, which reported on Russian operations.
Mr Krah claimed that he had only given interviews to the Voice of Europe twice in the past two years.
“There are no specific allegations that I received compensation for any of this,” Kula said. “This tells you what to think about the current campaign: Nothing!”
Speaking at a debate on foreign interference in the Belgian parliament on Thursday, Mr. Decroo admitted that Belgian intelligence services were aware of allegations about members by Czech secret services.
Czech media, citing intelligence sources, said the allegations involved politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hungary.
The central figure in the operation, uncovered by Czech authorities, was the news agency Voice of Europe, which along with two individuals has been sanctioned by the Czech Republic.
One of those sanctioned in the Czech Republic is pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who the Czech Foreign Ministry says aims to undermine Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.” He is said to have used the “voice of Europe” to spread propaganda.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the exposed operation was aimed at destabilizing Europe as a whole and that other European countries had instigated investigations as a result of Czech efforts.
Poland’s Internal Security Service said on Thursday it was also carrying out searches in the capital Warsaw and the city of Tychy as part of a joint investigation “in coordination” with other European countries.
European Commission Vice-President Vera Yulova, speaking from New York on Thursday night, confirmed that further accusations could come soon from the Polish investigation, saying that Putin has taken “dangerous steps” to increase his influence. He accused them of using “national political parties” as their mouthpieces.
European voices at the center of suspicion
At the center of the investigation is Voice of Europe, a Dutch listed company with its official headquarters in a small village in the province of Noord Brabant.
advertisementThe company claims to provide “uncensored news from Europe and the world” on its social media channels. Just 11 days ago, a debate was held during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, with sitting members of Spain’s Vox and the far-right Democratic Forum of the Netherlands.
The company’s website has been down since Wednesday night, according to website archives. His X, Facebook, and YouTube accounts have been inactive since March 27, but his Telegram account is still active.
But its contents clearly show that it had full access to Congress and its members. Its social media videos feature a series of MPs, mostly from far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) groups or members of the unaffiliated.
In a letter to Metsola, Renew Europe’s Heyer called for Voice of Europe’s access to the European Parliament grounds to be suspended and for the company to be sanctioned across the EU, following in the Czech Republic. .
Other parliamentary groups and parliament speakers have yet to comment on the allegations.
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