General Discussion

Far-right parties are set to do well in next month’s elections to the European Parliament, a fact that has thrown a spotlight on their links with the Kremlin. A recent study by the Budapest-based Political Capital Institute documents the support that far-right parties in the EU have given to Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly throughout the Ukraine crisis. These parties repeated the Kremlin’s line that it is the EU and the West, rather than Russia, which are provoking tension and fueling violence in the Eastern European country.

Several far-right politicians went to observe the Crimea referendum on re-joining Russia, a vote they said was free and fair although it was denounced as illegitimate by most Western leaders. Among those that went were politicians from far-right or populist parties in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France and Hungary.

Hungary’s Jobbik and Greece’s Golden Dawn are both invited to the Russian National Forum organised by a group with close ties to Putin to be held later this year. Admiration for Putin also extends to Europe’s softer right-wing. Nigel Farage, leader of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party, has openly backed Putin as a skillful "operator".

Amid the controversy and debate about the state of EU-Russia relations, Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Front, headed to Moscow for the second time this year. ... During the visit Le Pen asserted her support for Russia in the Ukrainian crisis, blaming the EU for declaring a new "cold war on Russia”.

http://euobserver.com/eu-elections/123887