The daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman works as an intern at the European Parliament in Brussels and has unhindered access to various European Union documents, Radio Free Europe has learned.
Jelisaveta Peskova, daughter of Dmitry Peskov, works as an intern for Aymeric Chauprade, a French member of the European Parliament who publicly supported the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014.
Her name appears on the official website of Chauprade, and he himself confirmed for Radio Free Europe that she is part of his team.
"Ms. Peskov is certainly the daughter of an important figure in the Russian Federation, but as a student, she has no less right than other young people to do an internship as part of her studies," Chauprade wrote in an email.
He adds that she is not currently working in Russia, neither for the state nor for any private agency.
"Therefore, it cannot be a conflict of interest in my tenure as a Member of Parliament," Chauprade wrote.
Chauprade is a member of both the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Defense, and is part of the delegation of the EU-Russia Parliamentary Committee.
He was one of the international observers at the Moscow-orchestrated referendum held in Crimea, which was followed by the Russian military takeover of the Ukrainian peninsula in March 2014. A United Nations General Assembly resolution supported by 100 countries declared the referendum invalid.
Several members of the European Parliament contacted by Radio Free Europe said they did not know that the daughter of a high-ranking Russian official was working among them.
Sandra Kalniete from the largest group in the Parliament, the European People's Party, believes that her work in this institution is "negligence".
"This is a violation of the European Parliament's general security rules," Kalniete said.
Petras Austrevicius, from the Liberal Group in the EP, called her position "a great shame on the face of the European Parliament".
"I could not believe that the Kremlin has its hand in the pockets and heart of the EU institutions," Austrevicius told RSE.
Upon RSE's inquiry, Peskov's spokeswoman stated that she could not confirm her employment in the European Parliament.
As an intern, Peskova has unhindered access to the European Parliament buildings in Brussels and Strasbourg and can attend all committees and other meetings.
Since the controls are sometimes very relaxed with only a few real checks, there is also the possibility that they will be present at the gatherings of other political groups. She also has access to the intranet (internal communication network) of the European Parliament and the intranet of the party of the member of parliament she works for.
Interns in the EP are paid from the budget of members of parliament, which are financed by European taxpayers. It is unclear how much Peskova was paid, if at all.
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