DISINFO: Lithuania should not criticize “Nord Stream 2” because it gets economical support from Germany
SUMMARY
Prime minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė said that the “Nord Stream 2” project is linked to the geopolitical influence of the Kremlin in Europe. She noticed the "dependence of EU and some of its members on Russia".
Lithuania is taking on too much (when criticising “Nord Stream 2”). Its influence on the EU is ridiculous.
Ingrida Šimonytė could talk about the dependence or independence of European countries from the Kremlin as much as she likes. Lithuania is the most independent country in these terms because nothing depends on it. Statement about Germany and "Nord Stream 2" was made only to say something. Lithuania could not influence any decisions because it gets economical support from Germany via European funds and not vice versa.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation undermining the statehood of Lithuania and belittling its role as the EU member state in the context of the “Nord Stream 2” topic.
European Union is the union of 27 countries. The Treaty of Lisbon fortified principles of equality of member states as well as principles of sincere cooperation (Article 3a).
All EU member states are contributing to the EU budget. Member countries' financial contributions to the EU budget are shared fairly, according to means. More information about pre-allocations assigned to the Member States in certain policy areas can be consulted here. More information about how the EU budget works could be found here. The money from EU funds is used by all member states, including Germany.
See other cases of pro-Kremlin disinformation claiming that Lithuania uses “Russian threat” to get more money from the EU, or that the Lithuanian government does not do any good for Lithuanians, or that the Baltic countries live mainly at the expense of the EU budget.