The Bureau of EFA decided to suspend Latvian-Russian Union with immediate effect and will propose to an extraordinary General Assembly their expulsion from the party.

The decision was taken this Wednesday in an urgent meeting of the EFA Bureau in the European Parliament, after reports were published in the press last Monday regarding Tatjana Ždanoka MEP’s alleged contacts with Russian intelligence. EFA is deeply concerned about these news. The integrity and independence of EU democracy is of paramount importance to EFA. Tatjana Ždanoka MEP, who was previously a member of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, was asked to leave the group on April 4, 2022, due to her refusal to condemn Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Concurrently, her party, the Latvian-Russian Union, was suspended from EFA membership on April 8, 2022, for a period of one year. Following the recent revelations, the Bureau spoke with the LRU to better understand their position. After learning that they do not intend to take immediate preventive measures, the Bureau decided to promptly suspend LRU again and convene an urgent extraordinary General Assembly on the earliest possible date, 15 February, at which they will propose the expulsion of the LRU from the party. Any actions that threaten the EU’s independence or subject it to foreign influences are deeply concerning to us. EFA strongly condemns Putin’s regime in the Russian Federation and has consistently stood in solidarity with the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression, as expressed in our statements on 24th February 2022, 4th October 2022, and 24th February 2023, and the motion approved by EFA GA 2022. The post [UPDATE] The EFA Bureau suspends LRU and proposes its expulsion in an immediate General Assembly appeared first on EFA - European Free Alliance.