“It has come to light that Russia approached MEPs, but also paid them, to promote its propaganda.” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said this, as reported by the Belgian media. "There was close collaboration" between the Belgian and Czech secret services to destroy a Russian propaganda network, De Croo indicated.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, "is aware of the accusations made" in the Voice of Europe newspaper, a vehicle for Russian disinformation activity, and the European Chamber is "examining" the veracity of the accusations, press services have confirmed of the EP. The plot of influence, according to what has transpired so far, would be simple: through Voice of Europe - financed and operated by the pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, man in Vladimir Putin's magic circle - Moscow would have tried to use MEPs by interviewing them payment. Among them - according to rumors from the Czech and Dutch media - there would be exponents of Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National, of the Flemish ultra-right Vlaams Belang, but also of Alternative fuer Deutschland, all formations of the sovereignist galaxy given the lead in the upcoming polls of the vote.
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What the 'Voice of Europe' scandal revealed "undermines unity in the EU, this is how Putin is trying to get away with his war in Ukraine. This is not just a breach of trust; it is a direct attack on the fabric itself of our democracy." This was said by the group leader of the Greens in the European Chamber, the German Terry Reintke, reacting to the news of the investigation into Russian interference in the European Chamber.
“This is not the first time that far-right politicians, who loudly claim to defend their country, have been shown to be secretly accepting money from foreign countries,” Reintke added.
"Citizens must be able to trust politicians. Therefore, a rapid and thorough investigation at European level is needed to get to the bottom of this matter. The European elections are in 10 weeks. We need to make sure that none of the candidates in these elections are paid for by the Russians," added Green MEP Bas Eickhout.
"As European Democrats we are seriously concerned by the news revealed today by the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, about a vast Russian disinformation network discovered by the Belgian and Czech secret services, which led to the closure of a website, Voice of Europe: the network would also have paid members of the European Parliament with the aim of spreading disinformation. We ask that the competent authorities and the Presidency of the European Parliament take action as soon as possible to shed full light on this extremely serious and worrying affair: the credibility of the European institutions, the serenity and integrity of the June 2024 elections".
The MEP Sandro Gozi, general secretary of the European Democratic Party and member of the "Team Europe" who will lead the Renew electoral campaign at the 2024 European elections, wrote this on social media.
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