This is a constant drip of revelations which in all cases where they occur, dizziness among the leaders European Union (EU). Just a few days ago, investigative site The Insider reported that leaders of the far-right party League They had an argument with an agent in 2019 Federal Security Service (FSB) An opaque financial plan to shore up the establishment’s battered finances at a Moscow, Russia hotel Matteo Salvini. Just a week ago, it was revealed that the Ukrainian assistant of a member of parliament was also in the same publication. Bundestag Germany is affiliated with the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) was actually a Russian intelligence agent. Populist forces at the extreme ends of the ideological spectrum, whether close to the Kremlin or heavily infiltrated by Russian intelligence, are likely to increase their representation in the region. European Parliament There are great concerns in Brussels after the European elections to be held in June.
More than three years ago, a meeting between La Liga representatives and Russian officials at the luxurious Metropol Hotel, a stone’s throw from Moscow’s Red Square, had already been reported in the Italian press. The innovation lies in verifying the profile of one of the participants, who is actually a member of the Russian intelligence agency. About Andrey KharchenkoAccording to The Insider, an agent of the FSB’s so-called Fifth Service, the same department that has been coordinating the actions of pro-Russian Latvian MP Tatjana Zdanoka for decades and what did he do Polarizing activities in Ukraineboth during Square Revolution Like the period before the occupation of Ukraine by the Russian Army. According to the publication of the investigation, this part of the Russian intelligence apparatus has the task of “destabilizing democracies abroad.”
parliamentary group
In the European Chamber, the League shares a parliamentary group with other entities that have shown sympathy and support for the Kremlin’s theses, although journalistic investigations have not found them to receive funding from the Kremlin. AfD mentioned above, National Regrouping related to Marine Le Pen or Freedom Party of Austria We found accommodation in the faction Identity and DemocracyThe vast majority of opinion polls attribute a significant increase in the number of seats before the new parliament, from the sixty it currently holds to around 90 MPs. AfD has already raised public opinion in its country with an ‘Exit’ proposal. leaving the EU as it is United Kingdom.
“When a person takes a selfie in Moscow’s Red Square wearing a T-shirt with Putin’s face on it, he is either a useful idiot or is benefiting from the Kremlin in some way; now we see how much benefit this provides.” El Periódico of Catalonia from the group Prensa Ibérica., Salvini, referring to Rasa Jukneviciené, former defense minister of Lithuania and vice president European People’s Party. This member of the European Parliament admits that he currently lacks “clear” and definitive answers to put an end to these terminals of Russia’s influence in Europe, but insists that the most powerful weapon is information: “We must expose them (these channels of information).” effect) “People should know.”
Investigative journalism is one of the most effective mechanisms against hybrid threats and receives significant legal support from the European Parliament to enable it to carry out its work more securely and to be protected from malicious legal complaints. However, Jukneviciené admits that “journalists cannot do everything” and that the EU needs to strengthen its defense not only in the Army area, but also in the area of such less visible aggression. “One may need to be equipped with strong research tools and capabilities and work in coordination and support with the institution. intelligence services To limit these effects, “countries”
“Fear of democracy”
EPP member and Foreign Affairs committee chairman David McAllister fully shares the former Lithuanian defense minister’s analysis. “We must make it clear to the Russians that we know what they are doing, that we are not afraid and that we are resilient; this way we will show them how weak they are, because they have nothing to offer.” says the MEP, before adding: “They are just trying to destabilize liberal systems because in reality fear of democracy“.
According to Jukneviciené, the Kremlin’s intervention occurs not only through relevant political forces of a populist nature. “The Kremlin’s most powerful export is corruption,” he says, before citing the case of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, a personal friend of the Kremlin, as the most symbolic case. Vladimir Putin, President of the German subsidiary GazpromRussian gas giant, former board member of Russian oil company Rosneft and the architect of the project Nord Stream 2Gas pipeline connecting Russia to Germany, avoiding Ukraine and never becoming operational.
According to experts, in such countries Bulgaria anyone CyprusThe Kremlin failed to advance its agenda relevant political forces, but by weaving powerful economic clientelistic networks with a high degree of corruption. The Mediterranean island has long been an enclave where Russian oligarchs laundered money siphoned from their country and local authorities have refused to cooperate with open investigations into the matter. The Balkan state, on the other hand, has governments formed by officially pro-European parties, such as Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (Bulgarian acronym GERB). Boyko Borisovunder the command of Russian oil companies such as Lukoil They managed to capture a market such as hydrocarbons, which is strategic in every country, and obtained great financial privileges and operating privileges.