Pro-Putin propaganda in Italy funded by EU money

Question for written answer E-000255/2024 to the Commission Rule 138 Fabio Massimo Castaldo (Renew), Francisco Guerreiro (Verts/ALE), Javier Nart (Renew), Brando Benifei (S&D), Ivan Štefanec (PPE), Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE), Bart Groothuis (Renew), Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (NI), Antoni Comín i Oliveres (NI), Pina Picierno (S&D), Petras Auštrevičius (Renew), Katalin Cseh (Renew), Pietro Bartolo (S&D), Martin Buschmann (NI), Lukas Mandl (PPE), Malte Gallée (Verts/ALE), Andrey Kovatchev (PPE), Alexandra Geese (Verts/ALE), Guy Verhofstadt (Renew), Seán Kelly (PPE), Sandro Gozi (Renew), Petri Sarvamaa (PPE), Karen Melchior (Renew), Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D) Subject: Pro-Putin propaganda in Italy funded by EU money As reported in the Italian news, an event featuring pro-Putin propaganda took place at Meucci High School in Aprilia before Christmas. The event was organised by Openhub, a project that has received EU funding and has planned an exchange with Beregovoy High School in illegally-occupied Luhansk. Involved in the organisation of the event was Andrea Lucidi, a pro-Putin journalist active in Donbas, and the association Vento dell’Est, chaired by Lorenzo Berti, a former member of the neo-fascist party CasaPound. Vento dell’Est is know for pro-Kremlin propaganda activities in Italy, in particular the planning of an event in Lucca, Tuscany on 27 January 2024 in which Aleksander Dugin, known for his nationalist and revanchist ideology regarding Ukraine and for speaking out in favour of the Russian war of aggression, was invited to participate via video-call. 1. Against this backdrop, how can the Commission ensure that EU funds are not used for financing pro-Putin propaganda within the EU? 2. What action is the Commission planning to take to counter this dangerous tendency in Italy? Supporter Submitted:29.1.2024