The European Parliament has asked Germany's far-right AfD party to declare any financial ties to the Kremlin after prosecutors opened an investigation into one of its leading politicians over alleged payments from Russia and China.
"The parliament calls on the AfD to immediately declare publicly its financial relations, especially with the Kremlin, and to make public the purpose and exact amount of all payments originating from Kremlin-linked sources," the EU legislature said, AFP reported.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the call in a resolution demanding tougher action against alleged Russian meddling ahead of European Parliament elections across the bloc in June.
On Wednesday, German prosecutors said they had opened a preliminary investigation into Maximilian Krach, the leading candidate of the AfD for the European elections, in connection with reports of suspicious payments from Russia and China.
This comes at a time when the far-right party is already struggling to contain the fallout from Monday's arrest of a parliamentary adviser to Krach on suspicion of spying for China.
Fears of Moscow's meddling in the run-up to the election have intensified after Czech and Belgian authorities uncovered an alleged Kremlin-controlled website that used MPs to spread Russian propaganda.
"Parliament is shocked by the credible allegations that some MEPs were paid to spread Russian propaganda and that several of them participated in the activities of the pro-Russian media Voice of Europe," the House said in a statement.
The non-binding resolution urges the EU leadership and its member states "to address efforts of Russian interference" before the vote.
"Any such tactics ... must have consequences," the parliament said.
Opinion polls predict a swing to far-right parties in the upcoming EU parliamentary elections.
EU officials have accused Moscow of stepping up its disinformation efforts since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 /BGNES
