Some officials in the EU harbor an irrational dislike of Moscow, Fernand Kartheiser has told RT

Anti-Russian sentiment in Brussels verges on "war hysteria," Fernand Kartheiser, a Luxembourgish MEP recently expelled from his parliamentary group over a visit to Moscow, has said to RT.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR Group) in the European Parliament expelled Kartheiser on Wednesday, accusing him of "crossing a red line" with his recent visit to Russia. The MEP explained that his trip last month was an attempt to "re-establish some sort of dialogue" with Russia at a time of international tensions.

In an interview with RT on Sunday, Kartheiser admitted he expected the ECR to react badly, given that some in the group maintain "very pronounced anti-Russian stances."

The expulsion is symptomatic of "the general attitude towards Russia in the European Parliament," he said.

"Sometimes I would think that we could touch upon war hysteria. We are not rational in many of our attitudes," he stated.

But common citizens in the EU reacted differently to his Russia visit, he stressed. Kartheiser said that "people in the streets come to me, congratulate me, shake hands, tap me on the shoulder. It's unbelievable."

"It is clear that there is a divide between the official circles in the European Union, which have a very anti-Russia stance, and the general public," according to the MEP.

The regular people in the EU are "much, much more moderate and would really wish to see some dialogue with Russia so that we could sort out our differences in a civilized way," he added.

Ahead of the trip, Baltic and Nordic delegations in the ECR had warned Kartheiser that they would push to exclude him if he went to Moscow, the Luxembourg Times reported.

The Baltic, Polish, and Scandinavian factions within the parliamentary group are especially outspoken in their anti-Russian stances, Kartheiser told RT.

Brussels adopted a tough stance and imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Despite US President Donald Trump's push to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict, the EU has doubled down on arming Kiev.

READ MORE: Western Europe blocks peace in Ukraine Moscow

Moscow has accused Brussels of striving to derail the US-brokered peace effort and stressed that recent EU moves to boost defense spending make it the "war party" of Europe.

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(RT.com)