Belgian federal prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into suspicions of corruption among MEPs. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced that the subject will be discussed next week at the EU summit.
According to Belgian intelligence services, MEPs “received money” to relay the massages from Russia. Prague revealed at the end of March the discovery by Czech intelligence services of a network financed and orchestrated by Moscow which spread pro-Russian propaganda on Ukraine via the Voice of Europe website. The Czech Republic had already put some of the people and organizations involved on its national blacklist, with the intention of also applying for their inclusion on the EU blacklist. “Cash payments did not take place in Belgium, interference did,” he explained, emphasizing that Belgium was the seat of European institutions. The Belgian Prime Minister noted that a new (Belgian) national law that came into force this week explicitly targets these interferences. But we need more tools to fight Russian propaganda and disinformation, he indicated.