Russia paid European parliamentarians to spread Kremlin propaganda.
Russia paid members of the European Parliament to spread Kremlin propaganda and tried to get more allies into the EU legislature in elections scheduled for June. The facts of the interference were revealed by Belgian intelligence and the prosecutor's office began an investigation, said Prime Minister Alexandre de Cros.
Moscow is seeking to undermine support for Ukraine in Europe, he said:
“Belgian intelligence services have confirmed the existence of pro-Russian interference networks operating in several European countries, including Belgium. According to our intelligence, Moscow's goal is very clear. It is to help elect more pro-Russian candidates to the European Parliament and strengthen the pro-Russian narrative in that institution. This is absolutely clear."
Moscow’s actions were revealed as a result of an operation by Czech intelligence services, which identified the Russian propaganda resource Voice of Europe operating in Prague. He was part of an operation to spread Russian influence, which was carried out in six European countries. One of the leaders of the operation was former Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, godfather of Vladimir Putin. He was arrested in Ukraine in April 2022 on charges of treason, then transferred to Moscow in exchange for prisoners of war.
According to Der Spiegel, Voice of Europe played an important role in financing candidates for the European Parliament elections, primarily from far-right parties. Politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hungary received money either during meetings in Prague or in cryptocurrency.
“The [Czech] investigation showed that Moscow contacted and paid members of the European Parliament to push its agenda there,” de Cros said. — Weakening European support for Ukraine serves Russia’s interests at the front. This is the real purpose of the activities that have been revealed in recent weeks.”
Politico analyzed 50 videos posted on the Voice of Europe YouTube channel. It turned out that 16 members of the European Parliament participated in the resource broadcasts - all from right-wing or far-right parties, all with an anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian position. “This is a war of civilizations, and I hope civilization in Ukraine will lose,” said far-right Dutch politician Marcel de Graaf during a program organized by Voice of Europe in the European Parliament television studio in October 2023. Another participant in the conversation, far-right politician from Germany Maximilian Kra, stated: “Ukraine should become a demilitarized buffer zone.”
Vladimir Putin also spoke about the need to create a buffer zone in Ukrainian territories.
Thirteen of the 16 politicians contacted by Politico said they did not take the money or were not offered it.
The existence of a network that tried to influence politicians was confirmed by German intelligence services. German authorities have launched a preliminary investigation into Petr Bistron, a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany party. Czech media named Bistron, one of the party's main candidates in the upcoming European Parliament elections, among those who took bribes from Russia. Before the war, Moscow actively supported the Alternative for Germany, and United Russia collaborated with it.
In Poland, meanwhile, two searches were recently carried out, during which 48,500 and 36,000 euros were seized. One of the suspects is a person to whom Voice of Europe could be registered and who is suspected of disseminating anti-Ukrainian information. According to Polish media reports, a citizen of the country was accused of bribing European parliamentarians and creating a Russian “zone of influence in Europe.”
Belgium last week passed a law that criminalizes foreign interference in the political process. Although the bribes themselves were not given in Belgium, there was interference, so the country's judicial authorities confirmed that the case fell under their jurisdiction, de Cros explained.
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