After Qatargate, a new corruption scandal could hit the European Parliament: several deputies, according to revelations from Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, would be involved in a round of hidden financing coming from Russia and aimed at influencing the next European elections in June. The revelations come after his Czech counterpart, Petr Fiala, announced the closure of the news website Voice of Europe: according to the Prague authorities, this information portal would have served Moscow to influence European politics, while a journalistic investigation by the Czech newspaper Deniknwhich cites intelligence sources, speaks of funds given to politicians from six European countries, including the AfD, the German party which sits in the League’s parliamentary group in the European Parliament.
For the moment, no names have emerged, but the findings of the Czech investigators would have triggered investigations in half of Europe, to be precise in Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hungary. According to the Dutch newspaper Ncr, Voice of Europe, despite being based in the Czech Republic, has its roots in the Netherlands, thanks to an entrepreneur who financed its activities for several years, before selling his shares. This entrepreneur, second Ncrallegedly collaborated with far-right leader Thierry Baudet in 2016 to hold a referendum against the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine (preliminary pact for Kiev to seek EU membership).
The true deus ex machina of Voice of Europetoday, he would be a Ukrainian oligarch, a certain Viktor Medvedchuk, among the staunchest pro-Russians in his country and considered a member of Vladimir Putin’s magic circle. According to what has transpired so far, if on the one hand the website was used to spread articles critical of the EU both on the Green deal and immigration, as well as on support for Kiev, on the other hand it would have been used to pay politicians across Europe. The system was simple: politicians would be interviewed for a fee. Among the excellent interviewees there would be representatives of the Rassemblement National, the French party led by Marine Le Pen, and of Vlaams Belang (the far-right party leading in the polls in Belgium), but also the main candidate of the AfD in the European elections, Maximilian Krah. The fact that these politicians were interviewed does not mean that they received funds from Moscow.
Investigations are underway in 7 European countries, and so far no politician has received formal charges. But in Brussels they are certain: the names will come out sooner or later. And the scandal could have an impact on the next European elections and on future post-vote alliances.
The site of Voice of Europe is unreachable, but not his social accounts: for example on the profile Xfollowed by over 180 thousand followers, the posts are still visible.
