Patriotic Parties Rights Violated in European Parliament - Belgian Lawmaker

The democratic rights of patriotic parties in the EU parliament are constantly violated, Belgian lawmaker Frank Creyelman told Sputnik on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — "It is very difficult for patriotic parties to work in the EU parliament as their democratic rights are violated constantly," Creyelman from the Vlaams Belang party said.

According to the lawmaker, there have been multiple occasions of such rights violations.

"A Russian delegation that was to enter the EU parliament — invited by German MEP Udo Voigt — was refused entrance. Also an exposition on the positive influence of Russia in the Syrian conflict was refused," Creyelman said.

Relations between Russia and the West, including European Union, have deteriorated since 2014 over Moscow's alleged involvement in Ukraine's internal conflict and Russia's reunification with Crimea that the western countries often refer to as "annexation."

According to the Belgian lawmaker, most of the patriotic parties in the EU parliament think that the Crimean peninsula is rightfully part of Russia. However, EU countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Moscow, while Kremlin repeatedly denied the accusations.