Photo by Devin Kaselnak on Unsplash
The European Greens are insisting that the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, “speeds up” the Parliament’s investigation into possible links between MEPs and foreign powers.
This comes, it says, in response to reports that German police have arrested a parliamentary assistant on suspicion of being an agent of the Chinese secret service.
There is heightened sensitivity currently about any possible interference in the electoral system with the EU elections looming on the horizon.
Senior Greens MEP Terry Reintke, lead candidate for the European Greens, said: “Autocracies like China and Russia are actively trying to undermine our democracies in Europe. This must stop.”
“The investigation within the European Parliament must be speeded up.”
“We demand preliminary results before the elections. Consequences must follow swiftly. People who attack the integrity of our democracies must be held to account,” said the MEP.
Further comment came from European Greens lead candidate Bas Eickhout, another MEP.
He added: “Citizens will vote for the European Parliament in less than 7 weeks. They need to be 100% sure that the candidates standing in the elections are democratically working for Europe – and not for Russia, China or any other authoritarian regime. Citizens must know who they are voting for.”
A European Greens spokesman said, “The news of the arrest of an alleged Chinese spy comes on top of the earlier Russiagate scandal.”
