Outside the hall, Bettina, the mother of eight, took a drag from her cigarette and said that, due to her upbringing in East Germany, she was skeptical of what the state told her. (She, like others interviewed in Magdeburg, refused to give her full name for fear of repercussions for making her views public.) “You … Read more
Lange denied that Krah’s office had retrieved documents with the classification level “restricted” via the trade committee. The “limited/sensitive” classification refers to sensitive content that is not necessarily subject to confidentiality. “Maximilian Krah has never received any EU Restricted documents” in the trade committee, Lange said. But Lange said the full extent of the scandal … Read more
Dirk Wiese, a lawmaker belonging to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), accused to the AfD of “feigned patriotism,” adding: “Maybe it’s not your own country that you love so much. Maybe it’s not dictatorships like China, Russia and Belarus.” The scathing criticism of the AfD comes after revelations on Wednesday that German … Read more
The German judiciary launched two preliminary investigations on Wednesday against MEP Maximilian Krah from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over alleged payments from Russia and China for his work in the Parliament. “On 18 April 2024 the public prosecutor’s office in Dresden initiated a preliminary investigation against MEP Dr Maximilian Krah for alleged … Read more
Czech authorities in March sanctioned the Prague-based Voice of Europe website over claims that European politicians had engaged with the outlet, using their influence to discourage support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Two of the channel’s executives — including Viktor Medvedchuk, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — were hit with sanctions. … Read more
The AfD is just one of several parties in Europe with pro-Russian views. Others include Hungary’s Fidesz, France’s National Rally, Italy’s Lega and Slovakia’s Smer. In the run-up to the EU-wide election in June, Russia is ramping up its attempts to sway EU opinion and, where possible, infiltrate the bloc’s institutions. A Serbian national linked … Read more
In 2024, the right wing surge in the polls seems bigger and bolder, with one predicting the nationalist right and far right could pick up nearly a quarter of seats in the European Parliament in June. Even if the center-right — currently tipped to come first in the election — refuses to form a governing … Read more
