[UPDATE] EFA expels Latvian Russian Union

The General Assembly of EFA officially approved the expulsion of LRU from the organization

This Thursday, the Latvian Russian Union officially ceased to be a member of EFA. The General Assembly of the European Free Alliance met extraordinarily to formally expel LRU from the organization. LRU was already suspended from the European Political Party. Last January 31, the Bureau of EFA decided to suspend the party with immediate effect and convene an immediate General Assembly to propose their expulsion, after reports were published in the press regarding Tatjana Ždanoka MEP’s alleged contacts with Russian intelligence.

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 of EFA decided to suspend LRU again and convene an urgent extraordinary General Assembly on the earliest possible date, 15 February, at which they proposed the expulsion of the LRU from the party, which was approved. LRU had also presented their resignation, which was communicated to the Bureau by a formal email on February 9.

Any actions that threaten the EU’s independence or subject it to foreign influences are deeply concerning to us. The integrity of EU democracy is of paramount importance to EFA. We strongly condemn Putin’s regime in the Russian Federation and have 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.