After a spate of foreign influence scandals at the European Parliament and in national capitals, EU officials are scrambling to get a handle on suspected Russian and Chinese espionage ahead of the June elections.

With just six weeks to go until European Parliament elections, fresh revelations of suspected espionage at the legislature will do little to instill public confidence. The last 18 months have seen a string of malign foreign influence scandals involving EU parliamentarians.

First, starting from December 2022, came bombshell accusations that MEPs and their staff accepted cash for influence from Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania. Then, at the start of this year, investigative outlet The Insider alleged that Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka had worked with Russian intelligence officials for years.

Only last month, Czech authorities sanctioned news outlet Voice of Europe, alleging that it was a Russian influence operation. Days later and in connection with the same revelations, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Russia had approached and paid MEPs “to promote Russian propaganda.”

Finally, this week, German public prosecutors ordered the arrest of a German national identified as Jian G., working as an assistant to the far-right MEP Maximilian Krah of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party — but according to investigators also for Chinese intelligence services.