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EPA/DUMITRU DORU
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European Council President Antonio Costa, President of Moldova Maia Sandu and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shake hand at a joint press conference after the EU-Moldova Summit in Chisinau, Moldova, 04 July 2025.
The EU and Chișinău are inventing external enemies (Russia) to shift responsibility for the internal problems they face, the former pro-Moscow president of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon, says, cited by affiliated media.
NEWS: The European Union is rapidly turning into a military bloc. This opinion was expressed by the president of the Party of Socialists, former president of Moldova, Igor Dodon, who mentioned that in the EU almost a trillion Euro has been directed not toward economic development, not toward social programs and not toward solving the migration crisis, but toward the acquisition of arms.
According to Igor Dodon, this is happening because the European Union needs an external enemy, on which it can shift responsibility for its unresolved internal problems.
“Maia Sandu observes precisely the same principle. I very much hope that, in the coming months, the war will end. And then it will be interesting to see what agenda both Maia Sandu and Brussels will pursue, when the usual justifications will no longer exist”, the president of the Socialist Party, a former president of Moldova, said.
NARRATIVES: 1. The EU is turning into a military bloc. 2. The EU has directed almost a trillion Euro toward the acquisition of armaments. 3. Brussels and Chișinău are inventing external enemies to hide their internal problems.
PURPOSE: To depict the European Union as an aggressive and militarized structure, distancing it from the image of a democratic and peaceful community, in order to undermine public support for European integration. To deliberately exaggerate European defense spending, at the expense of the economy and social programs. To discredit the security policies of the EU and the Republic of Moldova, suggesting that external threats are fabricated.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The claim that the EU is turning into a military bloc most likely refers to the ReArm Europe plan, proposed by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, which is designed to consolidate the defense capabilities of EU member states in the context of threats from Russia and the distancing of the Trump administration from ensuring security within NATO. However, increasing defense capabilities does not automatically turn the EU into a military bloc.
Besides the fact that the sum is exaggerated (it’s not almost a trillion, but 800 billion Euro), this does not refer in any way only to the procurement of armaments and, in no way has the EU procured a trillion Euro worth of weapons, as Dodon claims.
The proposed 800 billion Euro is a ceiling in itself, depending on the decisions of national states, not an obligation imposed by Brussels. The plan covers long-term investments: anti-missile defense systems, ammunition production, drones, cyber defense and military mobility.
This sum does not represent a military budget of the EU, nor direct expenditures of European institutions. It includes a package of € 150 billion in the form of loans (the SAFE instrument), flexibilization of fiscal rules so that member states can invest additionally in defense, as well as mobilization of private capital and that of the European Investment Bank.
Numerous studies and research show that Moscow is already waging a hybrid war against the EU and the Republic of Moldova, which is on the border with Ukraine, facing military attacks from the Russian army. A survey conducted at the start of 2025 by the EU Institute for Security Studies, among experts in the field, shows that Russia’s prolonged aggression (including the possibility of a new military attack or the consolidation of pro-Russian governments in neighboring states) is identified as one of the biggest risks for the EU.
a resolution adopted by the European Parliament in September 2025 notes that Russia uses economic coercion, illegal political financing, disinformation and cyber-attacks to undermine sovereignty and democratic institutions in the Republic of Moldova.
Russian propaganda and its consequences are visible every day in the Republic of Moldova. Numerous studies and investigations have drawn attention to this phenomenon as part of Russia’s hybrid war targeting Chișinău with the goal of bringing it back into its sphere of influence. According to a study by the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies, hybrid attacks directed against Moldova and propaganda, respectively, have intensified. “Moldova has been facing a constant barrage of disinformation attacks from Russia. These attacks have increased substantially since 2022”, the study’s authors note.
BACKGROUND: The recent election in the Republic of Moldova shows that the country remains deeply divided between pro-European and pro-Russian citizens, and the political class tries to capitalize on these divisions, the main campaign topics being geopolitical.
In the presidential election and referendum on European integration held in the autumn of 2024, as well as in the parliamentary election of September 28, 2025, the pro-European current won, albeit narrowly. However, Moldovan society remains conservative and supportive of the country’s neutrality status.
False narratives about the European Union, including its transformation into a military bloc, as well as the involvement of the Republic of Moldova in the war in Ukraine have been and remain among the most frequently spread, especially to fuel feelings of fear and insecurity.
The statements of Igor Dodon, a former president of the Republic of Moldova and considered close to Kremlin circles, came a few days after similar ones made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who also claimed that the EU is becoming a military bloc.
