Russian money in Dutch politics is “very worrying,” says Rutte; Investigation started

An investigation by the Czech Republic's intelligence service concerning Russian money distributed to European Union politicians is “very worrying,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. He would not say whether the uncovered evidence was known to the Netherlands, as this is a case for the AIVD and MIVD, the Dutch domestic and military intelligence services.

The Czech authorities said money was funneled to politicians in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Hungary and Poland in exchange for them promoting Russian propaganda. The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs placed the blame with Prague news website Voice of Europe, which was alleged to be Russian-controlled.

Rutte did say that the Netherlands will do whatever is necessary. “This does show how high the risk of foreign influence is,” Rutte said prior to the regular weekly Council of Ministers meeting. “That is a threat to our democracy, to our free elections, to our freedom of speech, to everything. It is good when these messages are released.”

The Voice of Europe platform was and its backers were accused of trying to destabilize Europe, reduce support for Ukraine, and interfere in the upcoming European Parliament elections. Though normally held on Friday, Rutte's Cabinet meeting was held on Thursday due to the Good Friday holiday.

Caretaker Minister of Interior Affairs Hugo de Jonge and Minister of Defense Kajsa Ollongren said they will not share the names of politicians who may have received money from Russia. They would not comment on the subject when asked, and also said it is in the hands of the AIVD and MIVD. They would also not say whether they knew if the names of any Dutch politicians were on the list.

“There seems to be a very aggressive Russia that has indeed tried to influence Dutch politicians,” De Jonge said before the council of ministers meeting. The minister emphasized that the AIVD and MIVD have warned of this for a longer time. He called it an “undermining of the democratic legal order.”

The lower house of Dutch parliament, the Tweede Kamer, wants to hold a debate on the subject. PVV leader Geert Wilders has said that he wants to know the names of the politicians who could be receiving money from Russia.

De Jonge is preparing a letter in anticipation of such a debate. It is unclear what information he is going to share in the letter. “We will share publicly what we can share publicly,” he said.

Ollongren mentioned that it is important that the Netherlands is not naive. “It can happen to all democratic countries, and also to the Netherlands.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hanke Bruins Slot said she thinks Russian influence is “very reprehensible.”