DISINFO: Europe is falling apart and only Russia can save it
SUMMARY
Europe is falling apart and this process continues for a long time. Europe is falling apart because it has lost its spirit and people are afraid to discuss issues. Only Russia can bring the spirit back to Europe.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the EU's alleged imminent collapse.
There is no evidence to support the claim that the EU is falling apart. The EU's political institutions - the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the European External Action Service and others - are functioning. The leaders and governmental representatives of the EU member states have regular meetings to discuss different issues on a common agenda.
Concerning the coronavirus crisis, the EU has created the first-ever stockpile of medical equipment. 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.
The EU supports new initiatives to help culture and science and also supports a variety of educational activities, such as students' exchange. Different cultural events take place and are planned for the future.
As for the pluralism and freedom to express opinions, according to the World Press Freedom Index by the Reporters Without Borders, most of the EU countries rank on the top of the list in the categories good and fairly good. While some EU countries are marked by the index as problematic, none of them is among the countries with 'bad' press freedom, unlike Russia.
See similar disinformation cases alleging that the EU will fall apart in 20-30 years, that the EU will start to collapse in five years, that coronavirus in Italy stripped-down European unity, that EU leadership crisis was revealed in combating coronavirus, that coronavirus has destroyed the European Union or that bureaucracy leads to the collapse of the EU.