One of the main meeting places of the European Parliament is located in Brussels, Belgium. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the site was essentially deserted for several weeks.
But apparently, some individuals who weren't supposed to be there have made their way inside. Apparently directly affecting multiple members of the European Parliament. Possibly dozens of them.
Offices of MEPs were broken into a burgled
According to Politico, the offices of at least 50 MEPs were the targets of criminal activities. Their offices were broken into. And in many cases, whoever was responsible also stole property.
Members were apparently notified about the issue in April. The Directorate-General of Security, or DG SAFE, has been investigating. DG SAFE has also apparently implemented stronger security protections. But the efforts were reportedly not been to the satisfaction of everybody involved.
MEP Nico Semsrott has not been happy with DG SAFE. He reportedly doesn't think that members were informed about the crimes in a timely manner. Semsrott is one of at least two MEPs to confirm that their office was broken into.
The other is Massimo Casanova. Despite their shared experience, Semsrott and Casanova seem to have two decidedly different levels of concern. CNN reports that 'nothing of value' was removed from Casanova's office.
But Semsrott has been much more worried. He said that 'private information and sensitive information' had been stolen. He added, 'this hurts the whole Parliament and democratic representation.'
Semsrott and Casanova are both new members of the European Parliament
Both Casanova and Semsrott first joined the European Parliament in 2019.
Their seeming to have two different experiences regarding the recent break-ins isn't the only difference between them. Another being that they come from two very different political ideologies.
Semsrott, a cabaret artist and poet, comes from Germany. In 2017, he unsuccessfully ran as a candidate in the German federal election.
He is a member of the highly controversial Die PARTEI (The PARTY). Born out of satire, the party received less than 2.5% of the vote in the election. But it was still enough to net two seats in the European Parliament, including Semsrott's. In the European Parliament, it's part of the Green-European Free Alliance.
Casanova represents the constituency of Southern Italy. An owner of a seaside disco, he is a member of the hard-line populist party Lega Nord. Or 'Northern League.' Lega Nord won the most seats from Italy in the 2019 election. It allies with the Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament.
