EU parliament 'looking into' claims members were paid to spread Russian propaganda

The European Parliament is "looking into allegations" that some of its members were paid by a Russian propaganda network foiled earlier this week by Czech authorities, reports Euronews.

It comes after Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Thursday said "Russia had approached EU lawmakers" and paid them to "promote Russian propaganda" in Europe, as part of an operation uncovered in a Czech investigation.

The parliament's press services were unable to confirm how many MEPs could be under scrutiny, but said on Friday it was working "in coordination with its institutional partners" in response to the explosive allegations.

In a letter addressed to the President of the Parliament Roberta Metsola, the chief of the centrist Renew Europe group, Valérie Hayer, describes the allegations as a "clear attack" on the parliament and its "democratic mandate."

"If sitting MEPs or candidates in the upcoming European elections have taken money from or been corrupted by the Russian Government or their proxies, they must be exposed," Hayer said.

It comes just over two months before EU voters head to the polls to elect 720 members to the European Parliament, and amid mounting fears Kremlin proxies could be using information manipulation to skew the democratic vote.

The Greens group in the parliament also weighed in, asking for a "swift and thorough" investigation into election candidates "on Putin's payroll."

"The politicians who have received money from Russia should be severely punished, both politically and legally," said Terry Reintke, one of the Greens' lead candidates for the upcoming election.

Speaking during a debate on foreign interference in the Belgian parliament on Thursday, De Croo confirmed that Belgian intelligence services had been made aware of the allegations regarding MEPs by the Czech secret services.

According to Czech media citing officials from intelligence services, the allegations involve politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hungary.

At the heart of the operation busted by the Czech authorities was the news company Voice of Europe, which has been sanctioned by the Czech Republic along with two individuals.

One of the sanctioned individuals is pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who according to the Czech foreign ministry had used Voice of Europe to spread propaganda aimed at undermining the "territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence" of Ukraine.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the uncovered operation aimed to destabilise the whole of Europe, and revealed other European countries had instigated investigations as the result of Czech efforts.

Poland's Internal Security Agency said on Thursday it was also carrying out searches in its capital Warsaw and the city of Tychy as part of a joint investigation "coordinated" with other European countries.

Speaking from New York on Thursday, European Commission vice-president Věra Jourová confirmed that more accusations could soon result from the Polish investigation, and accused Putin of using "dodgy outlets" to pedal influence and "domestic parties" as his mouthpiece.