Seventy-one Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from different political groups and countries have written to European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, urging them to co-ordinate a European approach and develop legal mechanisms to end the activities of the “Russian Houses”, which are still operating in 15 EU countries. This is reported by LRT.
According to the appeal, initiated by Lithuanian MEP Rasa Juknevičienė, it concerns Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia and Spain.
Juknevičienė described the institutions as Russian espionage centres in Europe that act against the EU and co-ordinate manipulation and interference operations abroad.
The letter also refers to sanctions decisions against the Russian state agency Rossotrudnichestvo, which runs the network of “Russian Houses”. It notes that these documents describe the agency as applying the Kremlin’s “soft power” and “hybrid influence”. In particular, it promotes the concept of the “Russian World”, brings together networks of Russian compatriots and agents of influence, funds propaganda projects, spreads Kremlin narratives and historical revisionism.
Earlier, the European Commission said that decisions to close individual “Russian Houses” remain within the competence of EU member states. However, in the view of the letter’s authors, national competence cannot be used as a pretext to justify EU inaction.
“We call on the Commission, the European External Action Service and the member states to develop a co-ordinated European approach to these institutions and to create legal instruments that can be used both at EU level and at national level to end the activities of structures that serve the Kremlin’s influence apparatus in the European Union,” the MEPs said.
As a reminder, in September Germany announced the closure of the “Russian House” in Berlin following a hybrid attack on 4 August in Leipzig. Ukraine later called for the centres of the “Russian Houses” to be closed in all countries.
About the “Russian House”:
- a network of Russian institutions in various countries around the world that officially operate as cultural centres;
- it is run by the Russian state agency Rossotrudnichestvo, which is subordinate to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- it is considered a cover for Russian espionage and the spread of Russian propaganda.