The Belgian federal public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into Russian interference in the European Parliament. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said this during a state of affairs on the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Friday, April 12, 2024 at 11:59 AM
At the end of March it became known that the Czech intelligence services had discovered the existence of a network financed by Russia that spread pro-Russian propaganda about Ukraine via the Voice of Europe news website.
That is the same website where Filip Dewinter and his Vlaams Belang party colleague Filip Brusselmans also gave an interview. European parliamentarians are said to have been approached, but also paid for the promotion of Russian propaganda.
The facts are also punishable in our country, because the interference took place on Belgian soil. A new national law that came into effect this week explicitly targets interference. The Belgian federal public prosecutor’s office has therefore started an investigation, according to De Croo. The Belgian intelligence services have now confirmed the existence of that network, with activities in various European countries and in Belgium.
European approach
De Croo also immediately advocates an approach at European and national level. “We need more tools to combat Russian propaganda and disinformation,” it said. Belgium has therefore asked Eurojust to meet and discuss this case urgently.
De Croo also says he wants to investigate whether the mandate of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the European Anti-Fraud Office OLAF allows prosecution of this Russian threat. “If that is not the case, we need to expand these mandates.”