Greens/EFA co-Presidents call on the Parliament to ban access of Russian state-affiliated lobbyists

Dear President Metsola,

In the wake of the war in Ukraine and ongoing efforts to tackle the influence of the Russian state on the European public sphere, it is essential that the European Parliament ensures that policy making in this house is protected from Russian influence.

As you know, the issue of Gazprom and other Russian state-affiliated actors’ access to the European Parliament was raised by colleagues previously at the Conference of Presidents.

However, given the political stalemate in the Council around the 6th round of sanctions, it is increasingly urgent that the Parliament revokes the access of Russian state-affiliated entities, such as Gazprom, Rusatom, Lukoil and others without delay.

Gazprom, for example, currently has direct access to the European Parliament via regular accreditation on the EU Transparency Register, with an accredited lobbyist working in Brussels.

Ending Russian influence in Europe starts at home, which is why we kindly urge the Parliament to immediately revoke the accreditation of Russian state-affiliated entities to the Parliament.

The Joint Transparency Register Secretariat should be tasked with reviewing which Russian state owned or affiliated companies are currently on the Register and which public relations consultancies currently have such entities as clients, with a view to the Parliament revoking access to the aforementioned entities and their representatives.

Yours sincerely,

Ska Keller & Philippe Lamberts, Presidents of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament