The European Parliament has banned all Russian lobbyists from its premises to prevent them spreading Moscow "propaganda" about Russia's war in Ukraine, its speaker said on Thursday.
"Effective immediately, Russian company representatives are no longer allowed to enter European Parliament premises," Roberta Metsola said on Twitter.
"We must not allow them any space to spread their propaganda & false, toxic narratives about the invasion of Ukraine," she said.
Metsola urged all other EU institutions, including the European Commission and the European Council, to follow suit.
A parliament spokesman said the ban was a response to "Russia creating and spreading false narratives about the war in Ukraine through multiple channels, including through state-owned companies."
The prohibition applies to Russian companies listed as employing lobbyists to the EU as well as those on the bloc's sanction blacklist.
The parliament in 2015 had already banned Russian diplomats from its premises, which include chambers and annexes in Brussels and the French city of Strasbourg, in response to Moscow banning several EU politicians vociferous over its annexation of Crimea.
German MEP Erik Marquardt, of the Greens, welcomed the ban saying that "especially oil and gas lobbyists" working on behalf of Russian companies had been trying to "spread propaganda and disinformation" in recent months.
