Berlin (Brussels Morning) – EU Parliament Vice-President Katarina Barley warns of Russian influence threats ahead of European elections, urging swift action and transparent investigation.
The Vice-President of the EU Parliament, Katarina Barley, has responded with alarm to the latest information on Russian influence in Europe. The German politician cautioned in an interview that it is in the stakes of Russian President Vladimir Putin to sabotage the European elections. On Wednesday, the Czech secret service discovered a propaganda network sponsored by Moscow that was part of a Russian influence operation.
It is stated to have used the Voice of Europe media site to try to stir up opinion against support for Ukraine in its war of fortress against Russia. The Czech government subsequently set sanctions on the operators of the website and on the oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, who is supposed to be an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Searches were earlier also carried out in Poland in connection with the exposure of a pro-Russian network.
Moreover, Political groups in the European Parliament said they will request swift action over Russian interference allegations and prepare to debate the issue, fearing the scandal’s effect on the upcoming June EU elections.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala expressed on X that his efforts led other governments to kick-start their examinations to uncover pro-Russian espionage webs. The investigation reveals Moscow “has approached MEPs, but also paid, to boost Russian propaganda here,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo expressed on Thursday during a debate in the Belgian Parliament.
“A full and translucent internal investigation by the President of the European Parliament is now needed,” stated Renew Europe Group President, Valérie Hayer. In a letter to Metsola, Hayer called for a discussion and resolution in the next parliamentary session on 10-11 April in Brussels. The Socialists and Democrats Group will back the call for a discussion on Russian interference, a group said.
The submitted title is “Council and Commission statements on Russian interference and suspicions of corruption striving to endanger the work of the European Parliament, the European elections, and the future of the Union,” stated the Socialist source.
Greens co-lead candidate for the European Elections, Bas Eickhout, desires to go a step further, demanding“a swift and thorough European-wide examination,” he described the press in a press statement. “The European polls are in 10 weeks. We need to be certain none of the candidates for these elections are being disbursed by the Russians,” he stated.
The European institutions have been gearing up to protect Europe’s democratic procedures from foreign interference, even more so after the Qatargate in 2022, when several Members of the European Parliament were brought to fairness based on an indictment of bribery by Qatar in exchange for favourable influence.
The European Parliament already embraced a resolution in February flagging considerations over Russia’s interference in the EU‘s democratic procedures “through both traditional media outlets and social media.” It called on the EU Commission to proceed swiftly with measures to control foreign interference in the bloc.
In November, institutions arranged a brand new political advertisement rulebook, prohibiting foreign actors from supporting ads before an election or referendum. The Commission is operating on a foreign agent registry bill, as the domain of the Defense of Democracy package, whereby all foreign-funded institutions conducting interest actions would need to sign up for an EU-wide transparency register.
The European Parliament has discontinued access to Parliament and audio-visual facilities for media attending on EU sanction lists.
This came in reaction to Russia creating and spreading false reports about the war in Ukraine through numerous channels, including through state-owned enterprises, the Parliament’s press service stated.
