BELGIUM HAS ANNOUNCED it is probing Russian “interference” in the European Parliament following allegations that lawmakers took money to spread Kremlin propaganda ahead of the June EU elections.
The Czech Republic last month said its intelligence service had discovered a network that used EU lawmakers to spread Russian propaganda through the Prague-based Voice of Europe news site.
“Belgian intelligence services have confirmed the existence of pro-Russian interference networks with activities in several European countries and also here in Belgium,” said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
De Croo said that Belgian agencies are working closely with the Czech authorities after the pro-Russian influence operation was uncovered there.
He said that probe showed that members of the European Parliament were approached and offered money to promote Russian propaganda.
“According to our intelligence service, the objectives of Moscow are very clear. The objective is to help elect more pro-Russian candidates to the European Parliament and to reinforce a certain pro-Russian narrative in that institution,” he told reporters.
De Croo said the “the goal is very clear: a weakened European support for Ukraine serves Russia on the battlefield and that is the real aim of what has been uncovered in the last weeks”.
Europe-wide polls are being held on from 6 to 9 June to elect a new EU parliament.
De Croo said that Belgian prosecutors are taking action.
He noted that “the cash payments did not take place in Belgium, but the interference does”.
“These are serious concerns and that is why I have taken action,” he said.
“We cannot allow this type of Russian menace in our midst. We need to act, and we need to act both on the national level and we also need to act on the EU level.”
He provided no details about who might be under suspicion.
Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office confirmed to AFP that the probe into foreign individuals or organisations suspected of giving “donations, loans or advantages” to gain influence started on Thursday.
The crime carries penalties ranging from six months to five years in prison and a fine of between €1,000 and €20,000.
A summit of EU leaders next week will discuss the allegations.
Belgian authorities uncovered an influence-peddling operation at the European Parliament in December 2022 involving officials from Qatar.
The government of Qatar has denied the allegations.
The European Commission has issued repeated warnings about Moscow spreading disinformation and misinformation ahead of the EU polls, and seeking to weaken European public support for Ukraine as it fights off Russia’s invasion.
Tactics go beyond publishing outright false information, EU officials have said. Mixing in nuggets of facts into false stories can confuse or mislead readers so that they distrust all news sources – including reputable ones.
Voice of Europe, whose internet site is still accessible, is known for publishing stories repeating Russian messaging and giving airtime to guests who do so.
One of its top executives is a Ukrainian oligarch, Viktor Medvedchuk, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and who has been sanctioned by the Czech government along with the outlet itself.
Today, Voice of Europe put a statement on its site saying it was being “unfairly and ruthlessly stigmatised” along with “European farmers, politically rising anti-globalist parties, supporters of these parties, former US president Donald Trump (and) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban”.
It blamed “unpopular globalist ‘elites’, their discredited lackeys in the lying mainstream press, and those financed by (US financier and philanthropist George) Soros,” who is a bete noire of Orban’s.
Includes reporting by Press Association and AFP
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