Leaders of the Liberal and Green groups in the European Parliament called on Friday for the opening of an internal investigation after the identification by intelligence services of an influence network financed by Moscow, rekindling fears of interference in the institution more than a year after
“
Qatargate
”
. Prague announced on Wednesday that Czech intelligence services had unmasked a network financed by Moscow which spread pro-Russian propaganda on Ukraine via the Voice of Europe website, and extended its influence
"all the way to the European Parliament"
, without further details. As part of this network,
“Russia approached MEPs but also paid to promote Russian propaganda, these are parliamentarians receiving money
,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday before the Chamber of Belgian representatives.
Approach to the European elections
French Macronist MEP Valérie Hayer, president of Renew Europe (centrists and liberals), wrote to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to demand the opening of an
“immediate and transparent” internal investigation, in cooperation with the authorities national
. Ten weeks before the European elections,
“voters must know whether MEPs or candidates are working with the support of Russia or its proxies, democracy in Europe must be defended at all costs against these threats
,” Hayer stressed.
The Greens also demand
“a rapid and thorough investigation on a European scale”
.
“Putin is trying to get away with his war in Ukraine (...) it is a direct attack on the very fabric of our democracy, the politicians who received money must be severely punished, both politically and in justice
,” insisted German elected official Terry Reintke, one of the two heads of the Green lists for the election.
“The Parliament is currently examining, in coordination with its institutional partners, the conclusions of the Czech authorities, in particular concerning the media “Voice of Europe”
,” a spokesperson for the institution told AFP. Access to the media institution
“appearing on the EU sanctions lists”
, in particular due to disinformation on the war in Ukraine, is already prohibited, and MEPs
“are bound by clear rules on “independence and ethics”
, under penalty of
“penalties”
, she added. The European Parliament has been shaken since December 2022 by the so-called
“Qatargate”
affair , surrounding suspicions of corruption of elected officials involving Qatar and Morocco.