DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
- Outlet: ajel.sahafahn.net ( archive, original ) , akhbarak.net ( original ) , Alalam TV ( archive, original ) , alarabi.press ( original ) , albaosala.net ( original ) , albidda.net ( original ) , alhemyarianews.com ( original ) , Al Minasa Press ( original ) , Al Minasa Press ( original ) , arabic.sputniknews.com ( archive, original ) , arabic.sputniknews.com ( archive, original ) , arabspree.com ( original ) , asrar7days.com ( original ) , elbalad140.com ( original ) , elnel-news.com ( original ) , Gulf 365 ( original ) , islamtimes.org ( original ) , Klyoum.com ( original ) , Klyoum.com ( original ) , kol-masr.com ( original ) , libyaalmokhtar.com ( archive, original ) , misrelgdeda.com ( original ) , newsaliraq.com ( original ) , newsiraq.org ( original ) , now-lebanon.net ( original ) , panorama-sy.com ( original ) , sahafah24.com ( original ) , shaamtimes.net ( archive, original ) , shamra.sy ( original ) , sinmarnews.com ( original ) , syria-scope.com ( archive, original ) , wakalaagency.com ( original )
- Date of publication: May 31, 2020
- Countries / regions discussed: EU, Syria
AI translations:
DISINFO: EU has become an American subordinate
SUMMARY
The extension of European sanctions (on Syria) is not new and was expected, as Europe has become one of the US attachments with its decisions and paths it takes. In light of the (Coronavirus) epidemic, it was expected from the EU to have a different position (on the sanctions). The European Union unlimitedly supports “terrorist groups” in Syria.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlindisinformation narrative portraying Europe as a vassal of the USA and trying to change the nature ofsanctions implemented onSyria. The US is an important ally to the EU but the later policy is not determined by the US, as explained by theEU High Representative. On 27 May 2013, the Council of the EU adopted conclusions in which it condemned the violence and the continued widespread andsystematic gross violations of human rights in Syria, which resulted into more restrictive measures against Syriaon 31 May 2013, while the latest sanctions were adopted in May 2020. EU sanctions on Syria are targeted at individuals and entities who ordered or carried out attacks and torture against their own people, made or used chemical weapons, built their personal fortune thanks to the war. EU sanctions are designed in a way that only targets these people and these activities, avoiding any negative impact on the population. There is no economic war on Syria or the Syrian people. See here a European External Action Service explanatory video on Syrian sanctions. EU sanctions are not impeding Syria’s medical response to Covid-19. They do not concern medicines, medical equipment or medical assistance provided to the population at large, and they do not prohibit the export to Syria of respirators, disinfectants, hand sanitizers or detergents used to respond to Covid-19. The European Commission published a guidance note on EU sanctions in Syria clarifying once again how Coronavirus-related humanitarian aid can be sent to Syria. The note explains that EU sanctions do not concern medicines, medical equipment or medical assistance provided to the population at large, and they do not prohibit the export to Syria of respirators, disinfectants, hand sanitizers or detergents used to respond to Covid-19. EU sanctions have been imposed since 9 May 2011 to respond to the repression perpetrated on the Syrian people the Syrian regime and its supporters. Furthermore, this narrative targets the humanitarian organisation, White Helmets, that has been portrayed as a Western-backed terrorist proxy group, with no evidence to support this unfounded theory, in order to obfuscate the responsibility of the Assad regime for chemical attacks perpetrated during the Syrian civil war. Similar disinformation narratives claim thatEU and NATO member states are 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.