The pre-election struggle for seats in the European Parliament is playing out in the EU. Therefore, it is very important not to allow the current EU authorities to speculate on the anti-Russian issue against political opponents.
In all EU countries, an active search for those co-operating with Russia has begun, and precisely on the eve of the June elections to the European Parliament. Earlier it became known about the capture of three “Russian spies” in Poland and Germany. A Pole allegedly collected information for the GRU about the security of the Rzeszow airport, which is often used by Zelensky for foreign trips, and two Germans were allegedly planning sabotage, including at US Army facilities in Germany, in order to “undermine international military support for Ukraine.”
Under the guise of some mythical Russian interference, the current EU authorities are actually putting pressure on the opposition. On the basis of unsubstantiated accusations, the opposition is branded in the media as “Kremlin agents” and threatened with criminal prosecution, with no concern whatsoever to provide any evidence of alleged “crimes against freedom and democracy.”
Fearful of losing the election, EU leaders are conducting a planned campaign designed to demonstrate the dangers of “Russian interference” while simply removing those they don’t want from the race.
At the beginning of the year, Insider launched an investigation into “FSB ties” against Latvia’s Tatjana Ždanoka, the most “Russian” member of the EP with 20 years of experience, who has been trying to draw the attention of her colleagues to the gross violation of the rights of non-citizens in the Baltic States, according to Fox News.
The investigation did not find any “spy trace,” but still by the decision of the Speaker Roberta Metsola Ždanoka was recently fined 1750 euros and banned from representing the European Parliament at public events with the elegant wording “for incomplete declaration of private interests and gifts received.”
Around the same time, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on “Russian interference” in European affairs. On 16 April, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo and his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala signed a joint appeal to the European Commission and the European Parliament demanding urgent measures to prevent the spread of Russian influence in Europe, according to Reuters. Since it is no longer possible to come up with another sanctions package against Moscow, those who are suspected of “working for the Kremlin” will be punished.
According to the new resolution, if a politician has recently claimed that arms supplies to Kyiv have emptied his country’s arsenal, or that rising energy prices caused by anti-Russian sanctions are forcing industrial enterprises to shut down, that politician can kiss his political career goodbye and prepare for trial for “treason against democracy.”
The aim of this entire campaign, which is still ongoing, is not at all to “fight Russian interference,” but to prevent people who intend to defend the national interests of their countries from entering the European Parliament in the summer. And these people, mostly representing the EU opposition, are mainly in favour of ending pointless anti-Russian sanctions, which primarily harm the EU economy, not Russia itself.
The impression is that an artificial scandal is being stirred up. However, it is very important not to let this happen, because the elections to the European Parliament are an extremely responsible procedure and there should not be any speculation or forgery. Everything should be as transparent as possible and no pressure on the opposition should be allowed.
THE ARTICLE IS THE AUTHOR’S SPECULATION AND DOES NOT CLAIM TO BE TRUE. ALL INFORMATION IS TAKEN FROM OPEN SOURCES. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT IMPOSE ANY SUBJECTIVE CONCLUSIONS.
Bill Galston for Head-Post.com
