The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, announced, on Thursday 18 April, at the end of the first working session of the European Council, that the integrated political crisis response (IPCR) mechanism would be activated at European level to facilitate the exchange of information and regular monitoring of investigations carried out in the Member States into alleged corruption by Russia of candidates, notably from far-right parties in Germany, in the European elections in June (see EUROPE 13389/14).
“We must not wait for the elections to intervene”, he said.
In a letter sent to their counterparts on Tuesday 16 April, Mr De Croo and his Czech counterpart, Petr Fiala, advocated the establishment of “a new EU restrictive measure regime aimed to counter Russia’s malign activities”. The aim of this regime would be to punish members of pro-Russian networks active in the EU, whose objective is to get pro-Russian MEPs elected in the European elections and to place pro-Russian collaborators with MEPs.
Mr De Croo and Mr Fiala confirmed that the secret services of their respective countries have identified attempts by Russia to destabilise European democracies, in particular through cash transfers observed in the Czech Republic. “We have evidence” that such financial links exist with the aim of influencing the elections, stressed Mr De Croo.
The two Prime Ministers also stated that the European Council should “examine whether the mandates of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and OLAF allow for this interference” by Russia to be prosecuted. If this is not the case, an expansion of these mandates should not be ruled out. Such an initiative, like the creation of a sanctions regime, will nevertheless take time.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, spoke of “a very good debate” at the European Council on this issue. “We would like to step up monitoring, we need to be more vigilant, we need to cooperate much more and pool the instruments at our disposal, both at the level of the EU institutions and the national authorities”, he said.
For the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, “Russia’s attempts to skew narratives and strengthen pro-Kremlin sentiment ahead of June polls were no longer just a threat, but a possibility that we must be ready to counter”. She pledged European Parliament support in the fight against any malign interference in democratic processes.
To see the letter from Mr De Croo and Mr Fiala: https://aeur.eu/f/bti (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Lionel Changeur)