As Moscow's invasion of Ukraine grinds on, the European Parliament has banned lobbyists representing Russian interests from entering. President Roberta Metsola tweeted on Thursday that Russian industry representatives are not allowed to access Parliament facilities.

According to her spokesman, Jüri Laas, Metsola revealed the move at a meeting of the Conference of Presidents on Thursday morning. It comes as diplomats discuss whether the EU's sixth package of measures should include a restriction on giving consulting and accountancy services to Russia.

"The ban applies to all entities that are established in the Russian Federation and that are listed in the EU transparency register," says Lass' e-mail. "Metsola also instructed Parliament's services to look into other Russian companies whose representatives might spread false information about the war in Ukraine or try to circumvent the sanctions imposed at the European level."

The European Parliament has also requested that Russia-linked lobbyists be blocked by the European Commission and Council. Earlier this week, the Greens/EFA Group launched a petition in Parliament calling for such a prohibition, which has since been modified to include a request for Council President Charles Michel's backing.

Nicholas Aiossa, deputy director and head of policy advocacy at Transparency International EU, which has been calling for Russian lobbying restrictions since March, said, "This is a welcome first step. But the institutions need to fully ensure Russian influence in Brussels stops now, including by EU-based law firms, consultancies and associations.”

Source: Politico

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