Disinfo: Eastern Partnership and the Three Seas Initiative are anti-Russian

Summary

The Three Seas Initiative is entirely anti-Russian – it cannot be analysed in separation from the “Eastern Partnership”, which is a military-political anti-Russian flank.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the EU Eastern Partnership and disinformation about the Three Seas Initiative.

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint policy initiative which aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union (EU), its Member States and its six Eastern neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The Eastern Partnership initiative is a mutually beneficial and constructive platform for countries in the region to build a closer relationship with the EU if they choose to do so. The EU does not demand any of its partners to make a choice between the EU or any other country. The Eastern Partnership stands for good neighbourly relations and respects the individual aspirations and ambitions of each partner country. Read more about the Eastern Partnership and its priorities here.

The Three Seas Initiative aims at boosting connectivity and building common infrastructure among EU Member States, thereby contributing to enhanced EU unity, increased EU cohesion and coherence, further EU integration. It was created in 2016 and includes the 12 EU Member States located between the Adriatic, the Baltic and the Black Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The disinformation message appeared in the same article as the claims that the bureaucratic EU did not provide any real help during the COVID-19 crisis.

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publication/media

Sputnik Poland (Archived)

Reported in: Issue 199
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27/05/2020
Language/target audience: Polish
Country: EU, Russia
Keywords: security threat, Eastern Partnership, Military, Encircling Russia, Anti-Russian

The West relied on the Malthusian theory during coronavirus

They (the United States, Britain, European and Scandinavian countries) relied on the Malthusian theory to solve economic crises (during the coronavirus pandemic), that is, by killing more unproductive citizens, the elderly, or sick people, believing that they mitigate later losses in spending on their health and social care.

May 31, 2020

Disproof

A baseless claim that Europe is plotting a Malthusian conspiracy to reduce the global population by exploiting the coronavirus to sacrifice its elderly for economic reasons. This is a recurring disinformation narrative about the US and EU being purely interested in profit rather than protecting people from diseases. See here a similar case claiming that both EU and US put the profit before health.

In fact, since the start of the crisis, new protective measures have been implemented in both the EU and US, as well as other countries worldwide, that are designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus in order to protect people at especially high risk and assure the provision of medical care and therapeutic products to the public.

Three Seas Initiative is a tool of American hegemony in post-Soviet areas surrounding Russia

The idea of the Three Seas Initiative belongs to the USA from start to finish, but the costs of this project are paid by the members of the Initiative. The Three Seas Initiative is not a Polish idea – this American concept is realized in order to promote disintegration of existing European structures. With the help of this Initiative, the USA introduces another form of American hegemony to the post-Soviet areas surrounding Russia. The Three Seas Initiative is an economic-political element of the American anti-Russian ring. The Three Seas Initiative was supposed to be the Europe of the “second speed” – it will pay to the Americans even more for the so-called “gangster protection” and for American energy resources.

May 31, 2020

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the US presence in Europe, alleging that the United States fully controls the foreign policy of the EU member states, including Poland (these countries are often presented as the American “vassals”).

The statement that the Three Seas Initiative is an anti-Russian and anti-EU project fully controlled by the USA is a conspiracy theory. The Three Seas Initiative is a forum of 12 countries from Central and Eastern Europe launched in 2015. The main goal of this Initiative is to promote better connectivity among the Member States, with a particular focus on infrastructure and energy. The main projects discussed at the forums of the Three Seas Initiative are the Via Carpathia, Baltic-Adriatic Corridor, Via Baltica, Rail Baltica and the LNG infrastructure in Poland and Croatia.

Intimidation of population with the “Russian expansion to the West” is a part of the state ideology of Poland

The Polish political establishment is the most interested side in the talks about the increase of the NATO contingent in Poland. The intimidation of the population with the talks about the “Russian expansion to the West” is a part of the state ideology of Poland. The deployment of new NATO units in Poland is not only a desire to show muscle in front of Russia but is also an attempt to strengthen the Polish role in the EU and NATO in order to receive more kindness from Washington.

May 31, 2020

Disproof

This message is a part of the Kremlin’s widespread narrative about Russophobic Poland. The Kremlin-controlled media regularly accuses the political elites of Poland of Russophobia and the implementation of anti-Russian policies. Within this narrative, the “Russophobic” policies of Poland are often explained by the claim that the United States fully controls the domestic and foreign policy of this country (presenting Poland as an American “puppet-state” or a “banana republic”).

The Polish authorities do not promote a policy of “intimidation with Russia”. The main current Russia-related concerns of Poland are a result of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia's armed military aggression in Ukraine. The Polish government shows its full support to solving the Russia-Ukraine conflict and complete restoration of territorial integrity of Ukraine.