Belgium may prosecute people for interfering in European elections as part of efforts to combat Russian disinformation, according to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Kroo.
"Our federal prosecutor has started an investigation which is based on the declassified report that our intelligence services have brought out. Our judicial authorities have now confirmed that this interference is subject to a prosecution," De Croo says.
His statement came after the Czech government said last month that its counterintelligence service had uncovered a Russian network that attempts to influence politics and public opinion across Europe, including payments to European politicians. Prague also imposed sanctions on the local company that runs the Voices of Europe website and two individuals associated with it.
Although Belgian intelligence services found that no cash payments were made in Belgium, De Kroo said that the interference was carried out in the country.
De Kroo also calls for action at the EU level, which he will raise at a meeting of leaders in Brussels next week. Belgium holds the rotating presidency of the bloc.
The Prime Minister asked Eurojust, the EU's judicial cooperation agency in criminal matters, to meet urgently to discuss the issue and to explore how to expand the mandate of the European Public Prosecutor's Office to ensure that such threats are prosecuted.
"We must remain very vigilant to any future elections and definitely related to the European election, which is happening at the beginning of June. The only intent is to weaken European democracy and to weaken the support for Ukraine, which is one of the objectives that Russia has," De Kroo says.
Background
On March 27, Czechia imposed sanctions on Viktor Medvedchuk. The reason was his activities related to the Voice of Europe company. Polish special services conducted a series of searches in the case of a network of Russian spies who also discredited Ukraine.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Kroo said that the Russian Federation bribed members of the European Parliament to spread propaganda. According to him, close cooperation was established this week between the Belgian and Czech special services to defeat the Russian propaganda network.
RBC-Ukraine's sources reported that the Security Service of Ukraine helped expose the network of influence of former MP Viktor Medvedchuk in the EU, which was previously reported by the Czech and Polish special services.