The hand of Russian interference hovers over the elections to the European Parliament. The Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, announced yesterday that the country's Federal Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation after confirming the existence of a pro-Russian influence network active in several EU countries. The plot, initially detected by the Czech spy services, would have bought the will of European politicians, including members of the European Parliament.
“The cash payments did not take place in Belgium, but the interference did [...] and, as the seat of the institutions, we have the responsibility to defend the right of Europeans to free and secure elections,” De Croo explained in statements to the international press. “According to our intelligence services, their objectives are very clear. Its goal is to help elect pro-Russian candidates to the European Parliament and reinforce a certain pro-Russian narrative in the institution. The weakening of European support for Ukraine favors Russia on the battlefield,” he stressed.
The Belgian intelligence services work in coordination with their counterparts in the Czech Republic, which at the end of March detected the existence of an active pro-Russian influence plot in several countries. Russian operatives would have used an alleged media outlet called Voice of Europe, based in Prague, to disseminate pro-Russian propaganda and give visibility to far-right politicians with anti-Ukrainian views.
The Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office confirmed the opening of the investigation on Thursday, but has not given details about the identity or nationality of the politicians under suspicion, among whom, according to the Czech intelligence services, there are Germans, Belgians, French, Dutch, Poles and Hungarians. The Belgian government has requested an urgent meeting at Eurojust, the EU's judicial cooperation agency, to address the ramifications of the case. “Our citizens will not be fooled by this propaganda, but we must clearly unmask it,” De Croo argued.
After being alerted by its intelligence services about the existence of a pro-Russian plot in Europe, the Czech Government immediately imposed sanctions on the pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, godfather of one of President Vladimir Putin's daughters, suspected of financing the alleged information portal . The website, active on social networks and messaging applications in several countries, has been sanctioned, as has its manager, the pro-Russian Ukrainian producer Artem Marchevsky. In its Telegram account, Voice of Europe, in which it celebrates the progress of parties such as Rassemblement National in France, Alternative for Germany or the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, describes as “absurd” the accusations that they receive orders from the Kremlin and asks his readers not to allow themselves to be “brainwashed by people who hate them.”
A joint journalistic investigation between the German weekly Der Spiegel and the Czech Deník N has revealed that the secret services of both countries suspect that the far-right Petr Bystrom, number two on the AfD lists for the European elections in June, has received cash payments from Moscow, accusations that come after contacts between the party and Russian espionage regarding its campaign against the shipment of weapons to Ukraine were revealed. In parallel, a joint operation by the intelligence services of the Czech Republic and Poland has led to the closure of Voice of Europe in this country and has allowed the Polish police to seize several tens of thousands of euros in cash.
The European Parliament yesterday took note of the opening of the Belgian investigation and made itself available to its judicial authorities to assist them in their investigations, which are beyond the powers and responsibilities of the institution. While possible criminal responsibilities are in the hands of the member states, the institution can act if it verifies that – beyond the mere expression of ideological positions – any of its members have violated its rules. This is what has just been done with Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka, accused of working for at least 13 years for the Russian Federal Security Service, who has been prohibited from representing the Chamber in different forums and her allowances have been withdrawn, a sanction equivalent to 1,750 euros.
