Withdraws from EU election after stories about possible controversial Russian connections

Irina Bjørnø is withdrawing as a candidate for the party Alternativet in the upcoming European Parliament election.

This was announced by Alternativet in a press release.

The reason is the recent focus in the Danish press on her chairmanship of the Russian Culture Mission in Denmark (RKMD), which reportedly received support from the state-controlled Russian organization Rossotrudnichestvo, which has been on the EU’s sanctions list since July 2022, according to Ekstrabladet.dk.

Alternativet informs that after consulting with a relevant authority, the party’s executive committee expressed full confidence in Irina Bjørnø. However, she has nevertheless chosen to withdraw.