Left Alliance continues in EU Parliament group despite allegations of Russia sympathisers within ranks

Members of the Left Alliance continue in the same European Parliament group where there have been alleged sympathisers of Russia. The left group has had at least nine Russia-friendly MEPs, of which only three were re-elected. A far-left party in Germany won six seats in the EU Parliament, but the left group excluded them. The Left Alliance probably continued its alliance to maintain its influence in the EU Parliament.

During the past term, several MEPs in the European Parliament’s left group have repeatedly opposed supporting Ukraine. Now, Li Andersson, along with Left Alliance MEPs Merja Kyllönen and Jussi Saramo, have decided to continue in the same group, which has been alleged to have “Putinists”. This decision surprised many politicians. Former Left Alliance chairperson Suvi-Anne Siimes expressed disappointment in the outcome of the negotiations. Ville Niinistö, a Green MEP, speculated that the same “obstinacy” in the left group would likely continue.

In a post-election interview, Li Andersson denied the claim that there were Putinists in her future EU group. “All, that is, all members of the left group condemned Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine during the last term,” Andersson said. However, Kimmo Elo, a specialist researcher at Turku University, says some representatives of the left group had directly echoed the views of Vladimir Putin’s administration during the past term. He highlights that these were individual Russia-friendly representatives who ultimately had little power in the EU’s united line of supporting Ukraine.

According to the Politico newspaper, there have been at least nine “Putinists” in the left group. Based on their research, only three of them were re-elected. They are Ozlem Demirel from Germany, Kateřina Konečná from Czech, and Marc Botenga from Belgium. All continue as members of the EU Parliament’s left group.

According to Johanna Kantola, a professor at the Centre for European Studies, two Irish and two Portuguese MEPs have been the most significant Russia sympathisers in the left group. However, Sandra Pereira and João Pimenta Lopes from Portugal, as well as Clare Daly and Mike Wallace from Ireland, lost in the elections.

The Left Alliance decided to continue in the group, presumably to maintain its influence in the EU Parliament. Its most significant “Putinists” either lost in the EU Parliament elections or were left outside the left group. However, at least three Russia sympathisers remain in the EU Parliament’s left group. This has led to criticism of the Left Alliance’s decision to continue in the group. The new left group now approved a political declaration condemning Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and committed to Ukraine’s right to maintain its territorial integrity.