Ane Barcos-Aquí Europa
The European Parliament approved yesterday by a large majority a resolution denouncing the links between Catalan independence leaders and the Kremlin and urging the continuation of judicial investigations into these alleged interference by the Russian security services.
In a resolution adopted with 433 votes in favour, 56 against and 18 abstentions, the European Parliament expressed its “total indignation and deep concern” at Russia’s continued efforts to undermine democracy through various forms of interference and disinformation.
The resolution calls for the continuation of judicial investigations into Russian interference and denounces that Moscow has carried out a “recruitment of MEPs as agents of influence” with the aim of creating “a system of dependencies through European political parties that then “They act as amplifiers of Kremlin propaganda.”
For this reason, the European Parliament voted in favor of the suspension of MEPs who participate in activities linked to foreign interference and committed to implementing stricter controls and ensuring that threats to EU democracy are neutralized.
The resolution points directly to Puigdemont
The text makes direct reference to the former Catalan president and current MEP Carles Puigdemont after the approval of the Popular Party’s amendments to include him in the resolution, which expresses “extreme concern” about the relations between the Catalan independentists and the Russian administration and points out that the Russian interference in Catalonia is part of a broader Russian strategy to promote internal destabilization and disunity of the European Union.
It also alludes to the meetings between agents responsible for Russian interference with representatives of the independence movement and the Catalan Government, more specifically, to information that reveals a meeting on the eve of the October 2017 secessionist referendum of the then president of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont with the Former Russian diplomat Nikolau Sadovnikov.
It also denounces the “massive disinformation campaigns” that Russia has carried out in Catalonia, as well as “the intense contacts and the number of meetings between the agents responsible for Russian interference in the independence movement and the regional government of the autonomous community of Catalonia”.
With the approval of this resolution, the European Parliament calls on the competent Spanish authorities to continue, intensify and quickly conclude their investigations into reported cases of interference by Russia, in particular those linked to Catalan independence groups.
