EU Parliament 'ready' for requests to lift MEPs' immunity in Russian influence probe, says Metsola
Speaking in Strasbourg ahead of the nal plenary of the mandate, Metsola touched upon allegations members of her parliament received cash from a Kremlin-backed network to spread Russian propaganda in Europe.
Authorities in Belgium, the of cial seat of the European Parliament, have opened a judicial investigation into the claims, after Czech authorities rst foiled a suspected propaganda operation in March.
"We continue to wait for information to be received from national authorities, because this would require any waiver of immunity being adopted by this House," Metsola explained.
"Investigations that would need to take place like we had, like had happened in the past, that would require national authorities to ask. We're waiting for that. And if that happens, we will do our job as we've always done," she added.
It comes just over two months before EU voters head to the polls to elect 720 members to the European Parliament, and amid mounting fears Kremlin proxies could be using information manipulation to skew the democratic vote.
Metsola, who belongs to the centre-right party expected to win those elections, the European People's Party (EPP), is running again to represent constituents in her native Malta in a bid to retain her seat.
Dubbed Russiagate, the sprawling probe is the second cash-for-in uence scandal to rock the parliament - the EU's only democratically-elected institution - since Metsola took the reins halfway through the mandate.
In December 2022, just nine months after she assumed the presidency, a handful of current and former MEPs were accused of receiving money from Qatari, Moroccan and Mauritanian o - cials to in uence the hemicycle's decisions on their behalf.
Metsola was personally asked to assist raids on the home of certain MEPs facing accusations.
Speaking to Euronews, she described the experience as a "gut punch."
But she assured that her institution's response had ensured that the action of a few didn't end up tainting the parliament's reputation.
"Now, we had the choice that day. Either we say that this is something that would happen in any parliament, or that we look at the party political colour or that we look at the country involved," she said in relation to the socalled Qatargate scandal, which
The sanctions are designed to curtail the exports of EU-made components used in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, and ballistic missiles.
The bloc had previously set up a dedicated regime to target Iranian-made drones, which the country has used to prop up Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The socalled "kamikaze" Shahed drones have been launched against critical infrastructure and residential buildings, killing dozens, and possibly hundreds, of Ukranians.
The scheme has also blacklisted people and entities involved in Iran's UAV programme through travel bans and asset-freezing measures.
But after Tehran's attack on 13 April against Israel, which saw over 300 projectiles headed from di erent fronts towards the Jewish nation, the EU began working on an expanded raft of sanctions to cover the production of missiles and enlarge the catalogue of prohibited drone-related components.
This expansion was endorsed on Monday by foreign a airs ministers meeting in Luxembourg and will enter into force in the coming days, once the political consensus is translated into legal acts and formally approved.
"We have reached a political agreement," High Representative Josep Borrell announced at the end of the meeting, noting the "potential transfer" of missile technology to Russia has not yet happened.
Iran and its proxies
Iran is estimated to own the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the Middle East, with more than 3,000 rockets in its stockpile and a reach of up to 2,000 kilometres.
Last week, Israel reportedly carried out a strike near the city of Isfahan, home to the production, research and development of missiles.
Although manufacturing is mostly domestic, Iran still relies on foreign-made technological components that can be disassembled and redeployed into its missile programme. The country has over the years developed an intricate network of operators to obtain sensitive dual-use items, which can be used for both military and civilian purposes, and evade long-standing international sanctions.
Additionally, Iran has supplied lethal equipment to its proxies in the region, including the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, all of which are sworn enemies of Israel.
The barrage on 13 April saw