Deputy Chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL), MEP Gheorghe Falca says that there are no discussions in Brussels about the federalization of Europe, a topic that has recently been under intense debate online, and argues that this is actually a Russian disinformation campaign that must be countered.
Asked at a press conference held on Friday at the PNL Arad headquarters, if a possible federalization of Europe is being considered amid the current international political turmoil, Falca denied, stating that „there is no federalization discussion in Brussels. For such a discussion to take place, one must start from the Treaty. The latest is the Lisbon Treaty, it’s the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. In order to move to federalization, you have to discuss this treaty, but there was no such topic and this is actually part of the campaign Russia is running in order to destabilize the values we believe in,” said the MEP.
He added that disinformation campaigns are being disseminated online on this topic, but also others that have gone viral through hundreds of millions of shares. Falca said that the said topics snowball to viral proportions in each European country, with minor adjustments depending on the local specifics, and when the authorities or mass media dismantle them with solid arguments, the real information is no longer redistributed and doesn’t reach the public any more.
„For you just to realize the power of vested interests and of a hybrid battle you cannot fend off with the truth. The truth has been very little distributed, therefore, just as we regulated zebra crossing and traffic lights, we need to regulate such things too. If not, trust in democracy, in what individual freedoms mean dissolves, trust in institutions and the question is who has an interest in this trust disappearing: it’s never the democracies,” said the PNL leader.
Referring to the acidic statements of Donald Trump’s administration regarding Romania or the European Union, Falca said that they have led to the American leader being discredited.
„The Trump administration has just freshly taken over, but let me tell you that when you win the elections, in the first three to four months your public confidence, as a politician, soars. What is happening today in America, with the Trump administration going down the slope, is a surprise. This means that responsible Americans do not agree with how American politics is being steered through declarations like ‘I want Canada, I want the Panama Canal, I want Greenland’, and more than that, ‘I want to get a deal with Putin and the aggressor is no longer Russia, but Ukraine’. All these declarations have sparked distrust in America in the first place, as well as in Europe,” said Falca.
Referring to the relations between the US and Europe, the MEP cautioned that „the lack of diplomacy will bring distrust on both sides.”
AGERPRES
