“Leaked emails between Ždanoka and her two known Russian case officers include explicit, detailed reports from Ždanoka to her handlers describing her work as a European legislator, particularly as those official duties relate to fostering pro-Kremlin sentiment in her native Baltic region,” according to the report.
The Latvian security service VDD also said it will investigate the allegations. Ždanoka’s immunity as a member of the European Parliament “was an important factor in [facilitating her] activities in support of Russia’s geopolitical interests,” the VDD said.
“Assisting a foreign state to undermine Latvia is only criminally liable since 2016. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Ždanoka’s support for it actually prompted the legal changes,” the VDD said in a statement.
The European Parliament cannot kick out the MEP or stop her from voting even if she is found to have breached the code of conduct. The strongest punishments the Parliament can level against a sitting lawmaker is docking their daily financial allowance for 60 days or banning her from taking part in some of the Parliament’s activities for the same period.
She recently announced that she will not seek re-election to the European Parliament in June but that Inna Djeri would top her party’s list. Ždanoka currently employs Djeri as a local assistant, along with 11 others.
Ždanoka is one of the leaders of the Latvian-Russian Union (locally known LKS), a fringe pro-Kremlin party that has remained outside the national parliament for 14 years. The party supported Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Ždanoka refused to denounce the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Bulgarian MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk said the Parliament “must act divisively to root out all bad actors in our chamber.” “It cannot continue to be a running joke that the European Parliament is full of spies or corrupt politicians,” Kyuchyuk said on X.
Koen Verhelst and Sergey Goryashko contributed reporting.
