Politico, 25 January 2021

Below is an article published by Politico. Photo AFP.

A controversial group of European lawmakers in favor of stronger ties between the EU and China was suspended only days after POLITICO reported on its activities, the chair of the group said Monday.

POLITICO reported on concerns involving the EU-China Friendship Group on November 26, after European Parliament officials expressed concerns it was too close to the Chinese government’s foreign affairs apparatus. Jan Zahradil, the Czech lawmaker who heads the group, said during a hearing of Parliament’s Special Committee on Foreign Influence on Monday that he decided at the end of November to put the forum on ice. The office of European Parliament President David Sassoli confirmed the president was notified on December 1.

Zahradil said he suspended the group “awaiting new transparent rules on functioning of all those informal friendship groups.”

European Parliament officials expressed concerns because of Zahradil’s high-ranking position as vice chair on the trade committee during crunch negotiations over the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment that was agreed last month. Other concerns involved the group’s Secretary-General Gai Lin, a Chinese national and assistant to Zahradil who had helped to organize more than a dozen trips to China for EU lawmakers over the past decade and a half and was plugged into Beijing’s extensive network of soft-power institutions.

Zahradil rejected claims that his position had granted him privileged access to information and said his group’s activities were in line with Parliament’s rules. In November, he also said there were no security concerns about Gai.

During the hearing Monday, Zahradil added he strongly rejects “the suggestion that this group has served as a tool for Chinese propaganda, at least not under my lead. I strongly protest against any such accusations.”

He added the group “did not receive any funding from anywhere” since its re-launch in October 2019.

Zahradil, however, told POLITICO in November that the Chinese mission to the EU paid for drinks and snacks for its relaunch event at the time.

The Czech MEP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lawmakers on the foreign influence committee are conducting a year-long review of influence activities by foreign states in European democracies.

Researchers linked to the Czech think tank Sinopsis and French think tank Institut Montaigne discussed China’s influence at Monday’s hearing, mentioning the EU-China friendship group as one example of how the Chinese state attempts to interfere in European politics.

Friendship groups are unofficial groupings of members of the European Parliament that promote relations with third countries. The groups do not have a formal role under the institution’s rules, which has made it hard for lawmakers to monitor their influence, funding and activities in the past.