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The prime ministers of Belgium and the Czech Republic, Alexander De Croo and Petr Fiala, appealed to fellow EU leaders to consider new sanctions against Russia – Copyright AFP\/File LUIS TATO<\/small><\/em><\/p>\nEmma CHARLTON<\/em><\/p>\nEU leaders were Wednesday weighing the bloc\u2019s response to suspicions of Russian meddling ahead of June elections in the bloc, with calls for new sanctions to target \u201cmalign activities\u201d by Moscow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brussels has issued repeated warnings about Moscow sowing disinformation ahead of the polls, and seeking to weaken Western support for Ukraine as it fights off Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n
The issue reared its head dramatically in recent weeks after Czech intelligence uncovered evidence EU lawmakers took money to spread Kremlin propaganda through a Prague-based news site \u2014 allegations now under investigation in Belgium which hosts the EU\u2019s top institutions.<\/p>\n
Together the prime ministers of Belgium and the Czech Republic, Alexander De Croo and Petr Fiala, appealed to fellow EU leaders at a summit in Brussels to consider new sanctions against Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a serious allegation that they have played an active role in trying to influence our democracy,\u201d De Croo said on arrival.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be very clear that attempts like this are not acceptable, and that we have to do everything to defend our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a joint letter, De Croo and Fiala argued for \u201ca new EU restrictive measure regime aimed to counter Russian malign activities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must arm ourselves against this, both at national and European level,\u201d they wrote in the letter to EU heads of state, Parliament President Roberta Metsola, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel.<\/p>\n
Addressing the summit in Brussels, Metsola echoed their warning, saying Russian attempts to \u201cskew narratives and strengthen pro-Kremlin sentiment\u201d ahead of June polls were no longer \u201cjust a threat, but a possibility that we must be ready to counter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe European Parliament stands ready to support the Member States in pushing-back and addressing any malign interference with our democratic decision-making processes in every way that it can,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Lawmakers under suspicion \u2013<\/p>\n
In their draft summit conclusions, EU leaders alluded to the threat, vowing to \u201cclosely monitor and contain\u201d risks including \u201cforeign information manipulation and interference in electoral processes.\u201d<\/p>\n
But with Russia-friendly leaders Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orban and Slovakia\u2019s Robert\u00a0Fico in the room there appeared little chance they would go much further in the politically charged lead-up to June\u2019s European elections.<\/p>\n
Russian disinformation tactics identified by EU officials go beyond publishing outright false information. Mixing in nuggets of facts into false stories can confuse or mislead readers so that they distrust all news sources \u2014 including reputable ones.<\/p>\n
The EU parliament allegations revolve around a site called Voice of Europe, which is known for publishing stories repeating Russian messaging and giving airtime to guests who do so.<\/p>\n
Prague has slapped sanctions on Voice of Europe and two pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politicians \u2014 Viktor Medvedchuk and Artem Marchevsky \u2014 in relation to the network\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n
The Greens grouping in the European Parliament and a Czech daily said the lawmakers under suspicion of voicing Russian propaganda on Voice of Europe came from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland.<\/p>\n
News website Politico said it identified 16 EU lawmakers who had appeared on Voice of Europe, all of them far-right politicians.<\/p>\n
EU lawmakers face strict rules regarding independence and ethics and can face penalties \u2014 financial and otherwise \u2014 if they violate them.<\/p>\n
The probe by Belgium\u2019s federal prosecutor\u2019s office is investigating foreign individuals or organisations suspected of giving \u201cdonations, loans or advantages\u201d to gain influence.<\/p>\n
The European Parliament\u2019s main political groups have called for the legislature to also probe the alleged propaganda-peddling.<\/p>\n
And the Belgian and Czech leaders also appealed for the European Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office and the European Anti-Fraud Office to be able to prosecute such political meddling.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
EU weighs response to Russian ‘interference’ in election runup
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#weighs #response #Russian #interference #election #runup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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