The European External Affairs Service (EEAS) assessed that the crisis related to the coronavirus pandemic in the Western Balkans is being used to claim that the European Union is "turning its back" on the region.
"In the Western Balkans, the crisis is being used to reinforce the existing narrative that the EU is turning its back on the region, where conspiracy theories that the corona virus is an American biological weapon continue to flourish," the EEAS said in an updated special report on pandemic disinformation published today. .
Sources close to the Kremlin, as well as several local sources in EU members, Eastern Partnership countries, the Western Balkans, the Middle East and African countries, claim that the EU is failing to cope with the pandemic and that it is close to collapse, that it is selfish and betrays its own values. , while, contrary to the EU, Russia and China are "responsible powers", and that the EU is using the crisis to pursue its interests, the report states.
"Claims that the EU is falling apart due to the coronavirus crisis dominate social networks in all analyzed regions," the EEAS states.
The report adds that misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread around the world, with potentially harmful consequences for public health.
"In the EU and elsewhere, the goal of coordinated disinformation messages is to label vulnerable minorities as the cause of the pandemic and to fuel distrust in the ability of democratic institutions to offer effective responses," the updated report says.
Some states and actors supported by states tend, as stated, "to exploit the health crisis for the realization of geopolitical interests, often directly questioning the credibility of the European Union and its partners."
"In China, state media and government officials are promoting unproven theories about the origin of the corona virus, and media reports highlight expressions of gratitude from some European leaders for Chinese help," the report says.
It is also stated that "the state-controlled Chinese media promotes the idea that the Chinese model is superior in the fight against the coronavirus."
In a text dedicated to the EEAS report, the Brussels portal Euraktiv states that on Monday, the EU approved an aid package of 38 million euros for the Western Balkans, of which the largest part, 15 million euros, will go to Serbia, the "most severely affected country in the region" by the pandemic.
Despite this, according to Euraktiv, on billboards in Serbia, gratitude for help is expressed only to Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the words "Thank you, brother Xi!".
Euraktiv also reminds that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on March 15, when he declared a state of emergency, expressed his displeasure at the EU's unwillingness to help.
"European solidarity does not exist. It was a fairy tale on paper. I sent a special letter to the only country that can help, which is China," Euraktiv quoted Vučić as saying.
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