DISINFO: The EU erases national identities and is becoming a liberal fascist country
SUMMARY
Europe is not a continent. It is a country. The European Union is a melting pot which is erasing the national identities of its members. There will be no France or Germany or Italy. The EU is a country with a single currency, a single parliament, a single government and a single police force. The EU is creating a single army. It is turning into a liberal-fascist country.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative attacking the European Union, in particular accusing it of Nazism and fascism and claiming that its Member States lack sovereignty. This claim, aired on leading Russian state TV by pro-Kremlin chief propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, is designed to galvanize the Russian public against the EU.
The European Union is a democratic block. The EU’s democratic essence is guaranteed through several means, including political representatives at the European Parliament being elected by citizens through direct voting at the European elections, the existence of several institutions and bodies that ensure a full separation of powers, and the establishment of mechanisms for popular legislation through the European Citizens Initiative.
The European Council is the body made of the governments, elected by the citizens in national elections each member state. The European Commission is the EU's executive arm. Commissioners are first appointed by EU member states and then, as candidates, take part in hearings in the European Parliament. The EP members - which are elected by EU citizens directly - can reject a candidate and have exercised this power in the past.
As for the President of the European Commission, the candidacy needs to be agreed by the European Council, which is formed by democratically elected leaders of every member state. The European Commission as a whole is subject to a vote of consent by the Parliament and its members are then appointed by the European Council, acting by a qualified majority. In the whole process of appointing new EU leaders, the results of the European elections have to be taken into account.
Additionally, the European Parliament is one of the two co-legislators, which means that without it, legislation is not adopted. It also approves the EU budget, has control powers and the right to intervene before the European Court of Justice.
Finally, Article 5 of the Treaty on the European Union ensures the principle of subsidiarity, which guarantees that decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen and that constant checks are made to verify that action at EU level is justified in light of the possibilities available at national, regional or local level. It is the principle whereby the EU does not take action (except in the areas that fall within its exclusive competence), unless it is more effective than action taken at national, regional or local level.
Read more about EU countries, their government and economy, their role in the EU, use of the euro, membership of the Schengen area or location on the map.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that The EU “out-of-control elite class” strips states of their statehood imposing its Marxists values, Europeans do not exist and the EU leadership is an occupying administration, that The European Union is increasingly devouring the sovereignty of the member states, and that Europe is an American colony colonised through the armed wing of NATO.