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Disinfo: Syria didn’t receive food or medicines from the EU for a long time

Summary

Syria for a long time does not depend on Europe (European Union), especially for food and medicines, because it is under the American shoe and its pressure, and Syrians have never known any sovereign decision from the union until this moment.

Disproof

Before the war, the EU was Syria's largest trading partner with €3.6 billion, but bilateral trade has contracted since the war to only €0,5 billion in 2016, and reached €0.657 billion in 2019.

Since the beginning of the war, the EU and its Member States have been the largest humanitarian donor to the Syrian crisis, having contributed over €20 billion to projects inside Syria and in neighbouring countries. In the context of the fourth Brussels Conference on “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region”, which took place from 22 to 30 June 2020, the conference succeeded in mobilising aid to Syrians inside the country and in neighbouring countries, including hosting communities, through pledges totalling €6.9 billion, of which €4.9 billion for 2020, and €2 billion in multi-year pledges for 2021 and beyond. Three quarters of the pledges came from the EU and Member States.

Additionally, this is another recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying EU and Europe as a vassal of the USA.

The EU's policy is not determined by the US, as explained by the EU High Representative. Furthermore, the EU Commission published detailed guidance on how Coronavirus-related humanitarian aid can be sent to the EU sanctioned Syria.

Similar disinformation narratives claim that EU is subordinate to the US, while the US has long regarded the EU as a kind of protectorate, and that lined up with the US, the EU never took independent decisions, or that EU sanctions for merely doing business with Damascus.

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publication/media

RT Arabic (Archived)
RT Arabic - YouTube [from 14:45 to 15:00]
  • Reported in: Issue 204
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17/06/2020
  • Language/target audience: Arabic
  • Country: EU, US, Syria
  • Keywords: coronavirus, European Union, US presence in Europe, Syrian War, Sanctions, Europe

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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