Parlasur VP: EU Aims to Gag Journalists by Pushing 'Anti-Propaganda' Resolution

The European Parliament’s resolution aimed at counteracting Russian media ties journalists' hands in order to make them follow a point of view convenient for the political establishment, Daniel Caggiani, the Uruguayan vice-president of Parlasur, told Sputnik Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution on countering Russian media outlets, such as Sputnik and RT. Out of 691 lawmakers taking part in the vote, 304 voted in favor of the resolution, 179 voted against it, and 208 abstained. Therefore, less than half of the lawmakers supported the resolution.

The EU parliament's resolution said that Sputnik and RT posed a danger to European unity and called for extra European Commission funding for counter-propaganda projects. It also draws parallel between Russian media and the propaganda disseminated by Daesh, a jihadist group outlawed in Russia.

“Instead of fighting for a diversity of opinions and the absolute freedom of media in any part of the world, the resolution of this kind regarding an editorial line or journalistic profile of a broadcaster or agency only ties their hands and imposes a particular point of view,” Caggiani said.

He added that the primary responsibility of the European Parliament was to defend democracy, and the lack of pluralism in mass media threatened such a key democratic principle as the freedom of speech.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the adoption of the European Parliament’s resolution on Russian media, congratulated RT and Sputnik journalists on effective work and stressed that this resolution indicated apparent degradation of the concept of democracy in the Western society. Putin also expressed hope that common sense would prevail and that there would be no actual restrictions against the Russian media.

Parlasur is the Mercosur bloc's legislative body. Mercosur, founded in 1991, is a sub-regional economic bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.