Strasbourg, France, April 25, 2024 (AFP)
The European Parliament on Thursday demanded that Germany's far-right AfD party declare any financial links to the Kremlin after prosecutors opened a probe into one of its leading politicians over alleged payments from Russia and China.
"Parliament calls on the AfD to publicly declare without delay its financial relations, especially with the Kremlin, and to publicly disclose the purpose and exact amount of all payments originating from Kremlin-linked sources," the EU legislature said.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the call in a resolution demanding tougher actions against suspected Russian interference ahead of bloc-wide elections for the European Parliament in June.
German prosecutors on Wednesday said they had opened a preliminary investigation into Maximilian Krah, the AfD's leading candidate for the EU vote, over reports of suspicious payments from Russia and China.
That came as the far-right party was already struggling to contain the fallout from the arrest on Monday of a parliamentary aide to Krah on suspicions of spying for China.
Fears of interference by Moscow in the run-up to the elections have risen after Czech and Belgian authorities unmasked an alleged Kremlin-controlled website that used MEPs to spread Russian propaganda.
"Parliament is appalled by credible allegations that some MEPs were paid to disseminate Russian propaganda and that several participated in the activities of pro-Russian media outlet 'Voice of Europe'," the chamber said in a statement.
The non-binding resolution urges the EU's leadership and its member states to "deal with Russian interference efforts" ahead of the vote.
"Any such tactics... must have consequences," the parliament said.
Opinion polls predict that there will be a swing toward far-right parties in coming EU parliament elections.
EU officials have accused Moscow of stepping up its disinformation efforts since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Sumber : AFP