The European Union are expected to face an uphill battle with growing populist parties across the bloc ahead of the European elections scheduled for May 23-26. French philosopher Bernard-Henry Levi suggested outspoken eurosceptic like Italy's Matteo Salvini or French far-right politician Marine Le Pen could receive the backing of "external forces" to further undermine the European project in the run-up to the European vote across the member states. Speaking to Euronews, Mr Levi said: "You have now some political forces who use democracy to ruin democracy, who use elections in order to torpedo the system which makes election possible and who are going to use the European Parliament to corrupt from the inside, to weaken and maybe destroy the European project itself
"You have populist movements all over Europe supported from outside by external force like Mr Putin."
Brussels has repeatedly locked horns with Vladimir Putin following the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation in 2014 – which sparked retaliation from the bloc through high-pressure sanctions on Moscow imports and exports.
Mr Levi also suggested US President Donald Trump, to whom Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini offered a close alliance, could play an important role in firing up support for eurosceptic parties during the European elections.
He continued: "The two enemies of European values are linked.
READ MORE: Germany whips up anti-Brexit sentiment to destroy eurosceptic views ahead of EU election
EU news: Brussels has been warned of