The European Parliament started an investigation against Latvian MEP Tatiana Zhdanok. Earlier, an investigation by journalists showed that she has alleged connections with the Russian special services.
EU Parliament Investigation
The head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metzola, said that she "takes very seriously" the accusations against the Latvian deputy.
Metzola is referring the matter to the Code of Conduct Advisory Committee. This issue will also be discussed on January 31 at the conference of presidents .
The press service of the European Parliament refused to comment on the accusations against Zhdanok at DW's request.
However, they said that Zhdanok's accusations of cooperation with the FSB were reported in Latvia "some time ago".
We emphasise that all MEPs are subject to the same rules (Elections Act 1976, Statute of the European Parliament and Internal Rules of the European Parliament) regarding independence of mandate and ethics. Like all members of the European Parliament, the deputy is accountable to the voters, the press service added.
Violating the code of conduct may result in the imposition of sanctions by the President of the European Parliament, which is announced at the plenary session.
At the same time, the competent authorities in his country decide to remove an MEP from office.
Tatiana Zhdanok's connections with the FSB
In the investigation of the Bellingcat group and The Insider publication, it is said that Zhdanok reported her activities to FSB agents for 20 years.
This became known from her hacked correspondence, the authenticity of which is confirmed by The Insider. In 2005, she already corresponded with her curator - an employee of the St. Petersburg FSB Dmytro Hladei.
In the letters, she mainly talked about her activities in Europe, which were related to criticism of the authorities of the Baltic countries.
