BRUSSELS (AP) — The leaders of Belgium and the Czech Republic are warning their European Union partners to take urgent action to prevent Russian interference in June’s Europe-wide elections, after the two countries’ intelligence services uncovered evidence of attempts to bribe EU lawmakers.
“We simply cannot allow Russia to get away with such a blatant attack on our democratic institutions and principles,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and his Czech counterpart Peter Fiala said in a letter, as EU leaders held a summit in Brussels on Thursday.
“We must arm ourselves against this, both at national and European level,” they wrote.
Last week, with campaigning for the June 6-9 starting to gather momentum, De Croo said that Belgium’s intelligence service has confirmed the existence of a network trying to undermine European support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Justin Timberlake set to bring his The Forget Tomorrow World Tour to Australia in 2025
Former Starbucks CEO Schultz says company needs to refocus on coffee as sales struggle
ABC News president Kim Godwin steps down
Double European weightlifting champion Pielieshenko killed in Ukraine war
Britain's new bonkers EV: Callum Skye is an £80k electric buggy built in Warwickshire
More than 40 workers trapped after a building under construction collapsed in South Africa
2 killed when a small plane headed to South Carolina crashes in Virginia, police say
Four people killed in a house explosion in southwestern Missouri
Biden recognizes US Military Academy with trophy for besting other service academies in football
Why US Catholics are planning pilgrimages in communities across the nation
Merlier wins Giro Stage 3 after Pogacar fires up finale and stays in the lead