A group of 71 MEPs in the European Parliament addressed the President of the European Council António Costa, the President of the EC Ursula von der Leyen and the Head of European Diplomacy Kaia Kallas with a call to form a unified approach towards the Russian Houses in Europe and to coordinate measures to terminate their activities.
Russian Houses are still in 14 EU countries
"These are Russian spy centers in Europe that act against the EU and coordinate operations to manipulate information and external interference", states the initiator of the appeal - Lithuanian MEP Rasa Jukneviciene. As the authors of the letter note, Russian Houses continue to operate in 14 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia, Finland, France and the Czech Republic.
The MEPs recall that in the EU decision to impose sanctions against the organization Rossotrudnichestvo, to which the Russian Houses are subordinate, it is defined as "the main state agency that spreads the Kremlin's soft power and hybrid influence, including the concept of the "Russian World", acts as a "hat" for networks of Russian agents of influence, and finances propaganda projects and promotes Kremlin narratives and ideas of historical revisionism".
According to the EC decree, decisions to close individual Russian Houses remain within the competence of EU member states. However, the authors of the letter believe that this should change. "Coordination at European level is necessary. We call on the EC, the European External Action Service and the Member States to develop a coherent European approach to these institutions and to define legal measures - both at EU and national level - to end the activities of structures that serve as an instrument of Kremlin influence in the EU", MEPs emphasize.
Closing the Russia House in Berlin
In early September, the German government decided to close the Russia House in Berlin, as well as the Russian Consulate General in Bonn. The reason for this was the attempted attack with a drone loaded with explosives at the Leipzig/Halle airport. The German authorities expressed the opinion that Russian special services were behind the sabotage.
The official occupation of the Russia House was the popularization of Russian culture and the Russian language in Germany, but it has long been considered a tool of Kremlin propaganda. In the context of Russia's war against Ukraine, there have also been suspicions that Russian intelligence services could use the center as a cover for espionage.