It’s not new. The Soviets funded the Communist Party of Italy, the 2nd biggest postwar, for a long time.
According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, four out of the 28 European countries do not have any restrictions on foreign donations to political parties. They are Belgium, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands. This means that, for example, an Italian political party could receive funding from a third country, without it being illegal.
Eleven other countries have partial restrictions to foreign donations. And only 13 have full bans in place….European officials are paying particular attention toward Russia, given the conclusion from U.S. intelligence agencies that the Kremlin did interfere in the U.S. 2016 presidential election.
CNBC