Russia Will Try to Intervene in Europarlt Elections - Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service

TALLINN, March 12 (LETA--BNS) - The Kremlin is very likely to try to intervene in the European Parliament elections to secure as many seats as possible for pro-Russian or eurosceptical political forces, it appears from a report made available by the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service.

The parliament as the only EU institution elected directly by the people is a considerable target for Russian influence operations. Russia has attempted to influence the EU's decision-making processes through elected members of parliament, used the parliament as a propaganda platform, and achieved direct contact with European politicians,the Foreign Intelligence Service's report published on Tuesday reads.

When intervening in the 2019 European Parliament elections, the Kremlin is likely to focus on the larger member states --Germany, France and Italy-- where it can hope to obtain the most mandates (about one third of the MEPs come from these countries) and where some of the political parties have clearly expressed support to the current Kremlin policies towards the West, the report reads.

Considering the security threat posed by Russia for many European countries it would be an additional risk to have a group of MEPs who intentionally promote Kremlin's policies,the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service noted.

Members of the European Parliament are elected in all EU countries using a proportional election system, which favors the inclusion of small and marginal political parties in the representative body.The typically low turnout makes it more likely that stronger-motivated political forcesbring their supporters to the ballot boxes, and Russia can use a smaller but concentrated effort to mobilize an electorate that meets its needs,the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service said.

Russia's goal is to continue to undermine the EU's unity by sowing disorder and disbelief in and between the member states, the agency said.

MEPs can also be used as spokespersons for propaganda in Russia.

Since the start of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, some MEPs have spread the view that the sanctions against Russia have had no impact on Russia, are harmful only to EU member states themselves, and only serve the interest of the United States.The same MEPs have...