The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta issued a Detailed analysis The vote of MEPs and the position adopted by several parties in the European Parliament when a resolution is to be voted on to condemn or punish the Kremlin’s decisions. Between 2019 and 2023, the People’s Congress Party, accompanied by the Communist Party of Greece, was among those who voted most often against or abstained from 22 resolutions against Russia.
According to Novaya Gazeta, there is a file “A group of ‘useful’ members of the European Parliament for the Kremlin”including “two MEPs from the Communist Party of Greece and the Communist Party of Portugal who almost always vote against anti-Russian resolutions.”
In the list of the 20 members of the European Parliament who most rejected decisions condemning Moscow’s policies, the name of Sandra Pereira, representative of the People’s Congress Party in the European Parliament, came sixth, having voted 15 times against decisions harming Moscow, in addition to the four. times abstained. Sandra Pereira has voted only twice in favor of European resolutions targeting Russia.
Novaya Gazeta’s analysis indicates that it is populist or radical parties that are most likely to vote against decisions that harm Putin’s interests. These include, above all, the National Union (the ultra-nationalist French party), the Alternative for Germany (the German far-right populist party) and, on the part of the radical left, the Greek Syriza.
The Patriotic Union and Alternative for Germany are among the political forces most “helpful” to the Kremlin’s interests, as they hold 28 seats in the European Parliament and MEPs often vote against resolutions condemning Moscow.
Other parties, such as Syriza or the Austrian nationalist Freedom Party, are more cautious when it comes to not taking a stand against the interests of the Kremlin, rarely voting against resolutions voted on in the European Parliament, and mostly choosing to abstain.
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