The Belgian prosecutorʼs office has launched an investigation into alleged Russian payments to members of the European Parliament.
This was announced by the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, writes The Guardian.
According to him, Belgian special services have confirmed the existence of pro-Russian interference networks operating in several European countries, including Belgium.
"According to our intelligence, Moscowʼs goals are very clear. The goal is to help elect more pro-Russian candidates to the European Parliament and strengthen a certain pro-Russian narrative in this institution. This is very clear," he noted.
The investigation by the Belgian prosecutorʼs office began after the Czech authorities discovered a Russian network that tried to influence the results of the vote.
This network operated the Prague-registered media website "Voice of Europe", which is now closed by the Czech authorities.
"The [Czech] authoritiesʼ investigation shows that Moscow approached European parliamentarians and paid European parliamentarians to push the Russian agenda here," De Croo said, adding that the main goal of such actions was to weaken European support for Ukraine.
De Croo said that even if the payments were made in other jurisdictions, a prosecution in Belgium was still possible.