Oleg Davygora18:47, 01/31/24

The Greens/EFA group issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was “deeply concerned” by the allegations and asking that Zhdanok be banned from parliament while the investigation continues.

As the European Parliament investigates a Latvian MP suspected of spying for Russia , her compatriots in the chamber warn there are others like her.

“There are other MEPs who consciously serve Russian interests,” Sandra Kalniete, Roberts Zile and Ivars Ijabs of the center-right European People’s Party, the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists and the liberal Renew party, respectively, said in a letter obtained by POLITICO’s Brussels office . 

Three Latvian MEPs expressed concern about suspicious “public interference, voting records, organized events, as well as secret activities.”

“The Greens/EFA group must bear some responsibility for long-term cooperation, financial support and information exchange with Zhdanok from July 2004 to March 2022,” the group added.

The Latvian socialists did not sign the letter from the members of the European Parliament – and after the exclusion of Zhdanok from the group, there are no Latvian greens in parliament.

The Greens/EFA group issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was “deeply concerned” by the allegations and asking that Zhdanok be banned from parliament while the investigation continues.

Tatyana Zhdanok’s work in the Russian Federation – details

Parliament on Monday launched an internal investigation into Latvian MEP Tatyana Zhdanok after independent Russian investigative newspaper The Insider reported that she worked for years as an agent for Russian intelligence services .

She was one of just 13 MEPs who voted against a resolution condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, which led to her expulsion from the Greens/EFA group. Zhdanok is now an independent member of the European Parliament.

(C)UNIAN 2024