Disinfo: The bureaucracy leads to the collapse of the EU

Summary

The coronavirus pandemic has pretty much hit European solidarity. And this is not only because of quarantine, which has closed transparent borders. Confronting the faceless (and even completely American) bureaucracy of the EU with the whole diversity of European countries and peoples is a very old topic. While the EU grew and developed, complications could be tolerated. But a weakening reveals many disorders. People who are worth listening to are already talking about the collapse of the EU.

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative that is consistent with the disinformation message that the Schengen zone has collapsed and more broadly, with the disinformation narrative that the EU is collapsing as a result of the coronavirus crisis. In the current exceptional situation, many EU Member States introduced temporary border controls to slow the spread of coronavirus, which adhere to the Schengen border code, but the EU Commission is ensuring that EU-wide supply chains continue to operate and that the flow of goods and key services continues around the clock. The introduction of ‘green lanes’ will allow all freight vehicles to cross internal Schengen borders within 15 minutes. Furthermore, to cushion the blow to people’s livelihoods and the economy, the European Commission has adopted a comprehensive economic response to the outbreak, applied the full flexibility of the EU fiscal rules, has revised its State Aid rules and proposed to set up a €37 billion Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative to provide liquidity to small businesses and the health care sector. Regarding the current coronavirus crisis, European leaders said they would spend hundreds of billions of euros to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from provoking a deep recession or financial crisis. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union would allocate up to €100 billion ($109.62 billion) to the hardest-hit countries, starting with Italy, to help cover the cost of lost wages and to preserve jobs. The EU has also created the first-ever stockpile of medical equipment, while German hospitals took in Italian patients and masks were sent to Italian doctors from France, Czechia, Austria and much more. Read more about the EU's response here and here. For similar cases, see here, here, and here.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 198
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 16/05/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU
  • Keywords: coronavirus, Euro-scepticism, EU disintegration, European Union, Europe
see more

Disinfo: EU is on the verge of collapse

It is no longer unlikely that countries like Italy or Spain will leave the eurozone (as a result of the selfish European response toward the Coronavirus epidemic). The collapse of the eurozone is the first step towards the collapse of the European Union.

Disproof

Groundless speculation made without evidence.

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the alleged disintegration of the European Union as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. See similar disinformation cases that the EU's health and safety policies have failed, that the COVID-19 outbreak means the end of Europe, and that many European states will likely cease to exist due to the pandemic.

Disinfo: It is a lie, that the USSR along with Germany is responsible for the outbreak of the WWII

In the USA and European countries, different statements are made about the role of the USSR in the Victory. Unfortunately, there are attempts to review the results and reasons for the outbreak of war and the role of the USSR in the defeat of fascism in this war. This includes those positions when the USSR, along with Germany, is accused of starting this war. This can be called, nothing other than a lie.

Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism – it accuses the West of the “falsification and re-writing” of WWII history in order to “minimise the role of the USSR in victory over Nazism” and to “get rid of its share of the blame for the outbreak of WWII”. It is also an attempt to erode the disastrous historical role of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Both Nazi Germany and the Stalinist USSR were harsh totalitarian regimes, which directly caused the deaths of tens of millions of people. The European Parliament resolution on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe stressed the fact that WWII was an immediate result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The resolution is aimed at the promotion of historical remembrance about WWII and the condemnation of totalitarian ideologies. Western countries do not question the role of the USSR in the victory over Nazi Germany. The signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a mutual decision of two regimes (Nazi Germany and the Stalinist USSR) aimed at the division of Eastern and Central Europe between these two powers. It is a fact that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact contained the Secret Supplementary Protocol, which assumed the division of Poland and other Eastern European countries between the USSR and Germany. Read similar examples of Russian historical revisionism concerning this issue such as the Signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact thwarted the UK’s expansionist plans in Europe, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact did not violate the rights of the Polish state, the shift of all blame for WWII outbreak at the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact the best example of manipulation of history, the USSR is not to blame for the beginning of World War II, the USSR was not an aggressor in World War 2, To assign equal responsibility for the outbreak of WWII to Nazi Germany and the USSR is falsification.

Disinfo: The coronavirus vaccine will reduce the population

The new coronavirus vaccine will be used to reduce the population. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides funding of up to100 million USD for discovering better ways to identify, isolate and treat cases of new coronavirus infection.

Disproof

Conspiracy theory, with no evidence provided to support the claim.It is a pro-Kremlin narrative against billionaire Bill Gates and attacking vaccination programmes. Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, philanthropist, became a frequent target of conspiracy theory followers and is being accused of sponsoring and creating coronavirus, for aspiring to reduce the population and poison it with vaccines. Similar cases about Bill Gates can be found here.