EU Commission President von der Leyen is sticking to her plan to work with right-wing forces in the European Parliament. Despite the Krah scandal, the AfD remains stable in surveys. An expert is now giving an assessment of how Russia could pose a threat to the election. You can find all the votes and developments regarding the European elections here.

Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 4:10 p.m.: The SPD’s top candidate for the European elections on June 9, Katarina Barley, has complained about a “massive shift to the right” in the Council of the European Union. “It’s already there, nothing will change as a result of the European elections,” said Barley on Tuesday in Munich at the start of a campaign tour through Bavaria. She cited countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and Croatia as examples where right-wing conservative national governments had been formed, which could now have a great influence on the politics of the European Union through the Council of the EU. 

“The shift to the right in the Council will continue in the Commission after the elections,” said Barley, as each country will send its representatives to the Commission regardless of the outcome of the European Parliament elections. The election is nevertheless extremely important: the Parliament is an equal legislative body in Europe and can form the only counterweight to the Council, which has shifted to the right.

After the start in Munich, Barley will travel on Tuesday first to Neufahrn and later to performances in Regensburg and Nuremberg.

5.19 p.m.: The Green Party’s leading candidate for the European elections, Terry Reintke, has called on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to rule out a possible coalition with right-wing conservatives. “Finally rule out the possibility of working with right-wing authoritarians and right-wing extremists after these European elections!” demanded Reintke on Monday at a Green Party election campaign event in Frankfurt. The right-wing parties wanted to destroy the European Union, she warned.

Reintke called on her party’s supporters to fight for votes before the election. “This European election is about everything,” said Reintke. The upcoming election will decide how the European Union develops. Among other things, it will also involve the implementation of climate protection measures, which must be addressed in the next five years. This is also an important issue for Europe as a business location.

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also called on his party’s supporters to continue working to mobilize voters. “This election will be decided by mobilization,” said Habeck. Right-wing parties whose goal is to destroy Europe are fully mobilized. For Europe, the next few years will be about whether it will become an active player on the global level, including in questions of economic policy as well as defense, the military and the arms industry. There were several pro-Palestinian hecklers during Habeck’s speech. 

There were also brief disruptions at a subsequent election campaign meeting in Kassel, northern Hesse. Habeck also emphasized the importance of a united Europe. In the future, world politics will not be influenced by Denmark, the Netherlands and Portugal. “And honestly not from France and Germany either.” But together, Europe could make the difference. “Europe must move on. We need more Europe,” said Habeck.

Monday, May 27, 2024, 7:27 a.m.: Shortly before the European elections, concerns about Russian influence are growing again: There are cyber attacks on institutions in EU countries, pro-Russian internet platforms are said to be spreading propaganda in the EU and there is even talk of paying money to European politicians . How big is the danger?

Lea Frühwirth researches the topic of election influence at the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS) in Berlin. According to her, Russia has been attracting attention for years with illegitimate influence – for example through disinformation campaigns with fake media sites that are spread via advertisements and inauthentic accounts.

EU election as an expected target for attempts to influence

“The European Parliament elections at the beginning of June are an expected target for such attempts at influence,” she says. Typical examples include discrediting parties and politicians or sowing distrust in the legitimacy of the electoral process. Campaigns could also influence voters indirectly. Anyone who wants to undermine trust in democratic institutions can do so by suggesting inadequate protection for the population.

According to the expert, Russia doesn’t just interfere in elections. Such campaigns are more like background noise, says Frühwirth. On certain occasions or to further fuel a polarizing debate, this increases again.

The best example of this is the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The East StratCom Task Force, part of the EU’s diplomatic service, reports that disinformation cases targeting Ukraine account for more than 40 percent of all cases in its database.

It is often unclear who is behind disinformation

For example, a video circulating on social media in mid-March 2024 shows a tank driving through the landscape with a blue flag – which somewhat resembles the EU flag. This is supposedly in Russia near the Ukrainian border. As dpa fact checkers checked, the emblem on the flag in the video is reminiscent of the ring of stars on the EU banner – but actually belongs to the “Freedom of Russia” legion, which is fighting on the side of Ukraine. It is not always possible to clearly determine who exactly such videos come from and who distributes them.

According to the experts of the East StratCom Task Force, campaigns on the Ukraine war aim, among other things, to undermine European support for aid to the attacked country with financial, military and humanitarian aid.

Cyber ​​attacks on the SPD

But Russian influence goes beyond disinformation campaigns. The Kremlin is repeatedly accused of being the mastermind of cyber attacks. “There can be various goals behind it, for example accessing data, weakening critical infrastructure or a communication effect,” explains researcher Frühwirth. Interventions in critical infrastructure would disrupt concrete processes, but should also demonstrate to the affected country and convey that the government is unable to protect its citizens.

In recent cyber attacks on the SPD and German companies in the logistics, armaments, aerospace and IT services sectors, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock clearly named Russia as the perpetrator. “Russian state hackers have attacked Germany in cyberspace,” said the Green politician in May. The federal government blames a unit of the Russian military intelligence service – APT28.

It’s not just Germany that is in Russia’s sights: According to the EU, other state institutions, agencies and facilities in member states, including Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden, had previously been attacked by the same “threat actor”.

Pro-Russian platform is said to have paid money to European politicians

A particularly prominent example of possible Russian influence is the Voice of Europe platform, based in Prague. It is suspected of spreading pro-Russian propaganda in the EU and paying money to European politicians. Interviews with AfD politician Petr Bystron and his party colleague Maximilian Krah were published on the portal. The Czech newspaper “Denik N” reported at the beginning of April that money may have been transferred in the Bystron case. The AfD member of the Bundestag has repeatedly denied this. Krah also denies having accepted money from anyone associated with Voice of Europe.

As a result of this and other reporting, the public prosecutor’s office in Munich initiated so-called preliminary investigations in the Bystron case to check whether there was initial suspicion of criminal conduct involving bribery of members of parliament. According to dpa information, the investigations that have been initiated concern the allegations in connection with Voice of Europe.

EU blocks Voice of Europe

In the case of Voice of Europe, a broadcast ban in the EU was decided in mid-May. In addition to the platform, three Russian media outlets were also blocked across the EU. The fact that the broadcast ban now came as a result of a planned 14th sanctions package against Russia probably also has to do with concerns about influence before the European elections.

Researcher Frühwirth warns that attacks on the legitimacy of election results can also take place afterwards and cause lasting problems. “The end of the election campaign does not have to be the end of election-related attempts to influence.”

You can read more about the European elections on the next pages.