"We demand preliminary results before the (European Union) elections" in June, said lead Green MEP Terry Reintke.
"Autocracies like China and Russia are actively trying to undermine our democracies in Europe."
German prosecutors said police had arrested the aide, a German national identified as Jian G., on Monday on suspicion he shared European Parliament information with a Chinese intelligence service and spied on Chinese opposition figures.
The European Parliament lists a Jian Guo as assistant to MEP Maximilian Krah, the lead candidate for Germany's far-right AfD party in the forthcoming elections.
The EU assembly is already conducting a probe into foreign attempts to influence its lawmakers, after a scandal blew up last year over suspicions that some MEPs and aides took cash from Qatar and Morocco to promote their interests.
Belgium has also launched an investigation into Russian "interference" in the parliament following allegations Moscow paid some far-right MEPs to spread Kremlin propaganda.
"The investigation within the European Parliament must be speeded up," Reintke said.
"Consequences must follow swiftly. People who attack the integrity of our democracies must be held to account," the Green MEP continued.
The cascading claims of espionage and influence peddling have cast a cloud over the European Parliament ahead of the June 6-9 EU elections.
Far-right parties across Europe are expected to pick up more seats in the next parliament on a surge of support from some voters feeling squeezed by the cost of living and what they perceive to be a burdensome shift to more climate-friendly policies.
The AfD and other far-right parties are also hostile to immigrants.
China says spy claims in Germany and Britain are 'malicious'
Beijing (AFP) April 23, 2024 -
Beijing said Tuesday that the arrests and charges in Germany and Britain of people accused of spying for China were designed to "smear and suppress" the country.
Investigators in Germany arrested three German nationals in the west of the country on Monday suspected of sharing information on maritime technology, prosecutors said in a statement.
The trio, identified only as Herwig F., Ina F. and Thomas R., are accused of taking part in an information-gathering project funded by Chinese state agencies, as well as illegally exporting a laser to China.
In Britain, two men were charged the same day with handing over "articles, notes, documents or information" to China between 2021 and last year.
Police identified the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the UK parliament as a researcher.
German prosecutors said on Tuesday another individual, an aide to a German far-right politician standing in June's European Union elections, had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was asked several questions by journalists on Tuesday about the allegations.
"Recent reports on China's so-called espionage activities in Europe are all hyped up and aimed at smearing and suppressing China," Wang said.
"Not only there have been reports from Germany but we have also noted similar reports from the UK in the past two days.
"We firmly oppose such hype and urge relevant parties to stop spreading false information about the so-called China spy threat, stop political manipulation and malicious defamation against China," he said.
- 'Mutual respect' -
The German arrests and British charges come amid repeated Western warnings of Chinese intelligence services targeting advanced technologies.
Pressed specifically on the two men charged in Britain, Wang said: "I would like to reiterate that the so-called claim that China is suspected of stealing British intelligence is completely fabricated and a malicious slander.
"We firmly oppose it and hope that relevant people and parties will stop anti-China political manipulation."
Responding to a question on the arrested German MEP's aide, Wang said such claims were designed "to destroy the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe".
The arrested man, identified only as Jian G., is accused of sharing information about negotiations at the European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Asked about the arrest, Wang said it was "clear for everyone to see recently that the so-called Chinese espionage threat theory is not a new thing in European public opinion".
"What we want to emphasise is that China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs to cooperate with countries around the world, including Europe," Wang said.
UK police charge ex-parliamentary researcher with 'China spying' offences
London (AFP) April 22, 2024 -
London's Metropolitan Police on Monday said it had charged two men with allegedly spying for China in a move that could stoke new tensions with Beijing.
The charges came as German prosecutors announced the arrest of three German nationals suspected of spying for China and providing access to secret maritime technology.
The British pair are accused of breaking the Official Secrets Act 1911 and will appear in a London court on Friday.
Police named the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the UK parliament as a researcher.
They are accused of having given "articles, notes, documents or information" to a foreign state.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 2021 and last year.
Beijing has previously hit back at claims of an orchestrated overseas espionage campaign.
The Met Police said in September they had arrested a man in his twenties on spying allegations, with the Sunday Times reporting he was a researcher in Britain's parliament.
The newspaper named him as Cash and said he had had contacts with MPs from the ruling Conservative Party.
They included security minister Tom Tugendhat and Alicia Kearns, the chairman of the influential House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
Tugendhat was reported to have only had limited contact with the suspect, and none when he was security minister.
- Denial -
Domestic intelligence service MI5 last year warned that a Chinese government agent called Christine Lee had been "engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, engaging with members here at parliament".
In July 2023, the Commons intelligence and security committee claimed China was targeting the UK "prolifically and aggressively" and that the government did not have the "resources, expertise or knowledge" to deal with it.
In a statement issued by Cash's lawyers in September, the ex-researcher protested his innocence.
"It is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent. I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party," he was quoted as saying.
"To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for."
Last month, Britain said it had summoned China's top envoy in London to complain about a series of cyber-attacks blamed on Beijing-linked hackers.
The UK, United States and New Zealand had all blamed a series of cyber-security breaches in the last decade on China, which denied the allegations.
The attacks against lawmakers and democratic institutions appear to have targeted critics of the Chinese government, they said.
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