Ahead of the upcoming European Parliament elections (June 6-9), the Czech Republic exposed a scheme in which Russia allegedly bribed European politicians through the Voice of Europe network. The focus was on figures from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. MEPs called for an immediate investigation.
Valérie Ayet of the Renewed Europe faction demands a transparent internal investigation to identify MPs who may have received funds from the Russian government or its representatives. Terry Reintke of the Green Party sees this as an attempt by Putin to avoid responsibility for his actions in Ukraine.
According to Der Spiegel andDenik N, Voice of Europe was used to spread calls to stop supporting Ukraine, for which some authors were allegedly paid amounts comparable to election campaign expenses. The involvement of Viktor Medvedchuk, Putin’s godfather and former leader of the Opposition Platform – For Life, was also pointed out.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Kroo confirmed that MEPs could have received money for promoting Russian propaganda. Searches in Poland led to the confiscation of large sums of money from the co-owner of Voice of Europe, which supports the allegations of undeclared finances.
The details of the scandal affected politicians such as Philippe Devinter of Vlaams Belang, Maximilian Krach and Petr Bystron of Alternative for Germany, as well as high-ranking Hungarian, French, Dutch and Slovak figures.
This incident turned out to be one of the largest corruption scandals in the history of the European Parliament, causing an urgent need for a detailed investigation and action against those involved amid Russia’s growing pressure on the information background of Europe to propagandize and destabilize the political and economic order in European countries.
