DISINFO: The EU is not a democratic entity, it is NATO’s political arm
SUMMARY
The European Union is not a democratic entity. The European Commission pulls the strings. It is not democratically voted by anyone. Heads of states gather to decide. They chose among themselves Mrs. Ursula Von der Leyen, who was imposed by Angela Merkel. Nobody voted for her. The European Commission, the one who has real power, is beyond the democracy of citizens. The EU is the political arm of NATO, which is itself the military arm.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about an undemocratic EU, part of a wider campaign to discredit European democracy ahead of the European Parliament elections.
The European Council is composed of governments, elected by the citizens in national elections in 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 directly elected by EU citizens - can reject a candidate and have exercised this power in the past. As for the President of the European Commission, the candidate 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.
The EU is not ‘NATO’s political arm’. Though EU-NATO cooperation constitutes an integral pillar of European defence and their security are inter-connected, both are independent of each other, as it is clear from the list of their nation members. NATO includes 9 states that are not members of the European Union, while 4 EU members are not part of the Atlantic Alliance. The European Union is a sovereign entity created by the voluntary initiative of European nations and it has its own, independent foreign policy.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that European citizens have no say in European Council and Commission appointments, that the European Commission is one of the most undemocratic institutions, that the European Parliament decides practically nothing in the EU and does not have real powers, that the EU is a democratic dictatorship, that the EU elections are not fair, or that the EU is NATO’s white label.