The European Parliament has included Russian Churches and religious organisations on a list of bodies spreading Kremlin-orchestrated “anti-EU propaganda”, and urged Western governments to be more vigilant in “countering disinformation”.
“Russia uses contacts and meetings with European Union counterparts for propaganda purposes and for publicly weakening the EU’s joint position, rather than for establishing a real dialogue,” the parliament resolution said. “The Russian Government is employing a wide range of tools and instruments – think tanks and special foundations, special authorities, multilingual TV stations, pseudo-news agencies and multimedia services – as well as cross-border social and religious groups, since the regime wants to present itself as the only defender of traditional Christian values.”
The resolution, sponsored by Anna Fotyga, a Polish MEP, was adopted last week by 304 votes to 179, with 208 abstentions. It said the Kremlin had “stepped up its propaganda” under President Vladimir Putin, with the aim of undermining EU foreign policy and “creating political support in Europe for Russian action”, using “third-party actors” which did not share the EU’s principles of “democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”.
It said audiences, especially in Eastern Europe, had become “more susceptible to disinformation and manipulation” through the advance of digital media.
Russia’s predominant Orthodox Church has been widely accused of being too close to the policies of Mr Putin, and for failing to question the country’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, and its campaign in Syria.
Speaking at birthday celebrations last week for Patriarch Kirill, who was received by the Queen during a visit to Britain in October, Mr Putin said that church-state co-operation had “reached a new level”, while the 70-year-old patriarch welcomed “the building of a symphonic interaction between the Church, the pious people and the state”.
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