Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Kroo has announced the launch of an investigation into Russia's possible interference in the European elections to be held in June.
According to him, the country's intelligence services have confirmed the existence of a Russian intelligence network operating "in several European countries" to undermine European support for Ukraine.
The Belgian prime minister clarified that the country's intelligence services are working closely with the Czech authorities, where Moscow's sabotage operation was uncovered.
The investigation revealed that MEPs were offered money to support the narratives the Kremlin wanted, i.e. to spread Russian propaganda.
"According to our intelligence, Moscow's goal is very clear. It is to help elect as many pro-Russian candidates to the European Parliament as possible and to strengthen a pro-Russian narrative in this institution," De Croo told reporters.
According to him, "the weakening of European support for Ukraine plays into Russia's hands on the battlefield," and this was the ultimate goal of Moscow's interference in the election campaign.
Elections for the new European Parliament will be held in the EU on 6-9 June.
The investigation was formally launched the day before, on Thursday. However, last month, Czech authorities said that the country's intelligence service had uncovered a hostile intelligence network that used European lawmakers to spread Russian propaganda through the Voice of Europe news site based in Prague.
Belgian intelligence services now claim that some of the current MEPs received payments from Moscow for this.
"When it comes to bribery – and our services indicate that payments have taken place – there are two parties involved. Someone pays the money, and someone receives it," the prime minister reminded, promising to find out who the Russian agents paid and why.
According to De Kroo, no one paid anything directly on the territory of Belgium, but it is here that the European Parliament and other European institutions are located. Therefore, according to the prime minister's logic, the Belgian authorities should lead the investigation.
"This is a serious threat, so I have taken action," he said. "We have to act, both at the national level and at the EU level.
The prime minister confirmed that the charges will be discussed at the summit of EU leaders to be held next week.
European lawmakers are strictly required to maintain independence and ethics, and breaching them can result in huge fines and penalties, including recall.
According to a Czech newspaper, MEPs from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland are under suspicion.
Politico reported that it had identified 16 EU lawmakers who had appeared on Voice of Europe, all of them far-right politicians.
The Czech newspaper Denik N and the German magazine Der Spiegel named two leading German candidates from the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), Peter Briston and Maximilian Krach, as suspects.