Germany 'vigilant' to Russia meddling threat in EU vote

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said Monday Germany was looking with "heightened vigilance" to the threat of Russian online meddling in the lead-up to European Parliament elections this month.

"Heightened vigilance to this issue has not only been necessary but has been practised for some time, in Germany as well as at the European level," Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news conference in Berlin.

"Our increased attention is not without reason. We are observing carefully the online activities of different international sources -- among them are Russian ones."

Seibert was responding to renewed warnings Moscow would run disinformation and manipulation campaigns ahead of the May 23-26 election, including from European Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova who called it "a central issue" in comments to German media.

The New York Times meanwhile reported that "a constellation of websites and social media accounts linked to Russia or far-right groups is spreading disinformation, ..