DISINFO: Coronavirus epidemic disrupted European unity and accelerated EU disintegration
SUMMARY
[…] the coronavirus epidemic disrupted the once strong European unity and accelerated [EU] disintegration processes. It is already clear that there will be no Schengen visa. Well, most likely, there will be no European Union. […] today, everyone can see that the European Union is collapsing, even though until recently it seemed strong and unshakable.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative that is consistent with the disinformation message that the Schengen zone has collapsed and more broadly, with the disinformation narrative that the EU is collapsing as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The current situation is an example of how indispensable Schengen is to the European economy and way of life, and not just for Italy. In the current exceptional situation, many EU Member States introduced temporary border controls to slow the spread of coronavirus, which adhere to the Schengen border code, but the EU Commission is ensuring that EU-wide supply chains continue to operate and that flow of goods and key services continues around the clock. The introduction of ‘green lanes’ will allow all freight vehicles to cross internal Schengen borders within 15 minutes. Furthermore, to cushion the blow to people’s livelihoods and the economy, the European Commission has adopted a comprehensive economic response to the outbreak, applied the full flexibility of the EU fiscal rules, has revised its State Aid rules and proposed to set up a €37 billion Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative to provide liquidity to small businesses and the health care sector. Regarding the current coronavirus crisis, European leaders said they would spend hundreds of billions of euros to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from provoking a deep recession or financial crisis. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union would allocate up to €100 billion ($109.62 billion) to the hardest-hit countries, starting with Italy, to help cover the cost of lost wages and to preserve jobs. The EU has also created the first-ever stockpile of medical equipment, while German hospitals took in Italian patients and masks were sent to Italian doctors from France, Czechia, Austria and much more. Read more about the EU's response here and here. For similar cases, see here, here, and here.