The European Union may impose sanctions on American TV host Tucker Carlson, given that the EU bloc has already imposed sanctions on many people it considers propagandists for Moscow, several MEPs told Newsweek magazine, quoted by
pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2024/02/7/7440814/” target=”_blank”>Ukrainian Pravda.

Influential MEP Guy Verhofstadt, former prime minister of Belgium and leader of the European ALDE family, is one of those who suggest that the EU should study the possibility of excluding Carlson from the EU space, saying that he is a “propagandist” of Vladimir Putin.

“Since Putin is a war criminal and the EU sanctions all those who help him in this, it seems logical that the European External Action Service (EEAS) should also look into this case,” he told Newsweek.

The EAS is the diplomatic arm of the EU, any proposal to add a natural or legal person to the sanctions list of the EU bloc first goes through this institution. If the EAS finds the evidence sufficiently convincing, it forwards the proposal to the European Council, which takes the final decision on imposing sanctions.

The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, MEP Urmas Paet, also spoke out for Carlson’s punishment, making harsh accusations against the American journalist.

“First of all, it should be remembered that Putin is not only the president of an aggressor country, but also that he is being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court and accused of genocide and war crimes. Carlson wants to give the floor to the person accused of crimes and genocide. This is wrong,” the Estonian MEP told Newsweek.

American TV presenter accused of propagandizing the “most hated” regime in Europe

“If Putin has something to say, he should say it before the International Criminal Court. At the same time, Carlson is not a real journalist, as he clearly expressed his sympathies for the Russian regime and Putin and constantly criticized Ukraine, which is a victim of Russian aggression,” he added.

“Thus, you can be put on the sanctions list for such propaganda of a criminal regime,” said the former foreign minister of Estonia, adding that a possible punishment for Carlson would mean a ban on his entry into EU member states.

Luis Garicano, a former MEP from Spain, also said such a measure would be likely.

“He (Ne Carlson) is no longer a journalist, but a propagandist of the most odious regime on European soil and the most dangerous to our peace and security,” he, now a professor at the London School of Economics, said.

Karlsson confirmed on Tuesday night that he was in Russia to interview President Vladimir Putin, after reports that he had arrived in Moscow appeared on social media since early February.

The Kremlin initially denied information on this topic.

Carlson, who is considered a vector of Russian propaganda in the United States

After the start of the war in Ukraine, the TV host was accused of spreading Russian propaganda, and the comments he made during his show were widely picked up and translated by Moscow’s state media.

Valeriu Pasha, an expert on disinformation at the anti-corruption organization WatchDog.MD, said in an interview with Insider journalists in April 2022 that the American TV host will be banned from the Republic. Moldova because of his pro-Russian comments.

Carlson was accused of pushing many of the Kremlin’s propaganda lines before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a “special military operation” on February 24, questioning, among other things, why the United States should stick with Ukraine and not Russia, “which is a very important bigger country “.

He even declared that he “stands on the side of Russia” in the dispute with Ukraine, the broadcast of individual fragments of his monologues has become common for Russian television since March of last year. Among other things, he later questioned the US government’s military aid to Ukraine and accused Kyiv of persecuting the country’s Christians.

Tucker Carlson compared Zelensky to the manager of a strip club

Commenting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s first visit to the US in December 2022, Carlson compared him to “strip club manager” and crypto-swindler Sam Bankman-Fried, who was later convicted of the collapse of the FTX trading platform.

“Remember when Sam Bankman-Fried showed up in Washington wearing a t-shirt and talking gibberish and all the self-proclaimed geniuses hailed him as a hero? The media, Congress, the White House, they all loved this weird little guy named Sam Bankman-Fried. Do you still remember that?” – Carlson asks rhetorically in the hall.

“In a way, we were reminded of that today when the president of Ukraine arrived at the White House dressed as a strip club manager and started demanding money,” Carlson said at the opening of his show after President Joe Biden congratulated Zelenskyi.

After being fired from Fox News, Carlson was invited by Russia Today to work on the EU-banned TV channel shortly after the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

Last year, he visited Romania to interview British millionaire Andrew Tate, who is accused by the Romanian authorities of human trafficking.

• On the same topic: “Comrades, do you experience bipolar?” Tucker Carlson’s interview with Putin, used by the Kremlin to undermine the US presidential election

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