The EU is forcing us to eat insects, wants to replace Europeans with migrants, controls our internet, and manipulates our elections. These are some of the conspiracy theories targeting Brussels.
In today's multipolar world, conspiracy theories are inevitably multiplying, as effective weapons in the anti-democratic and anti-EU information war. An inventory of the main narratives is relevant, including in terms of how they spread, or do not spread, in Romania.
Serving the occult, the EU is poisoning us and imposing digital dictatorship: the grand narratives
It is impossible to classify all the conspiracy theories targeting Brussels. We have grouped them into eight meta-narratives, which are inevitably related.
- Subjugation of member states. A centralized "European superstate." Loss of national prerogatives. Economic colonization. Often, such ideas are based more on old-school nationalist impulses than on arguments and appear declarative, without much factual basis. However, in Poland, in 2021, the Constitutional Court ruled that the primacy of European law is unconstitutional, which contradicts the Treaty on European Union, and this caused quite a stir in Brussels and among the Civic Platform of the democrat Donald Tusk, who took over the government.
- Migration and the "replacement theory." The EU would promote the replacement of the native population with other types of populations. Diversity and pro-LGBTQ policies weaken the traditional family and implicitly destroy tradition. The "replacement theory" is a special case because it has a well-known author, Renaud Camus, a famous French writer prefaced by Roland Barthes, a former member of the Socialist Party and later supporter of Marine le Pen and Éric Zemmour. It refers to the "genocide by substitution" that European elites allegedly commit by replacing the native population with others, especially Islamic ones. The goal is unclear, unless it is linked to point 5, total control of the population. Related to the "great replacement" is the term "Eurabia" (from "Europe + Arabia"), which originated in the dark web . Another obsession of the conspiracy theorists is the so-called "Kalergi Plan," attributed to Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, an Austrian politician and pioneer of European integration, who prophesied in a book published in 1925 that the future would belong to a "mixed race," the “Eurasian-Negroid” one. A reasonable prediction, if we overlook the terminology of the era, and Kalergi said no more than that, let alone signed a "Plan" bearing his name.
- The EU is poisoning us/forcing us to eat/secretly feeding us additives, insects, genetically modified organisms, synthetic meat, etc. In recent years, the most common "meme" of this type refers to the four species of beetles, crickets, and locusts approved for human consumption by the European Union. Approval is based on the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) at the initiative of private entities, but in no way does it include mandatory consumption. It is even less likely that European institutions are secretly adding cricket flour to our food without our knowledge, as they are mainly located in offices and meeting rooms, not food production facilities.
- Surveillance/spying/digital dictatorship: chips in passports, European digital identity, censorship of online platforms through European directives, "total control" over the population. We already know what happened in Romania, and elsewhere, with biometric passports; in Western countries, however, the "usual suspect" is currently the European digital identity, a project that aims to protect rather than monitor a person's identity. As for web-related directives, such as the GDPR (personal data protection) or the DSA (Digital Services Act), they seek, among other things, to create a climate of transparency that excludes data theft, abusers, and extremists. The "digital dictatorship" also includes, to some extent, attacks on the digital euro project and the reduction of cash transactions, although these are more related to the economy.
- "The muzzle," COVID, vaccines, other means of total population control. These are related to point 5, but I have mentioned them separately because they constitute separate narratives. We know that they have gained traction especially after the pandemic.
- Global occult groups (the Club of Rome, the World Economic Forum, Bill Gates, George Soros) that seek to reduce and totally control the population and are, of course, also at the helm of the EU. The idea dates back at least to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an anti-Semitic fake circulated in the Tsarist Empire in the 19th century. In its recent version, the conspiracy theory is based on the World Economic Forum's plan for the "great reset" of June 2020, which transparently aims to rebuild the global economy on a more solid foundation.
- Deliberately induced crises: food, wars, the Green Deal. "Point 6" pursues the objectives of Point 4. Recent is the presence of the Green Deal, the European Union's pro-environment initiative from 2020, which applies, for example, to the abandonment of fossil fuels and fertilizers. The phasing out of fossil fuels would have a general impact on the population, and restrictions on fertilizers would particularly affect European farmers, who are prone to protest, especially in Western countries. While the side effects are certain, the idea that they are deliberate or constitute the main objective of the Green Deal is a conspiracy theory.
- Electoral manipulation by Brussels. This idea has been raised in almost all recent elections in EU countries, and the fact that it is a recent phenomenon should come as no surprise. It is formulated in the logic of "the thief cries 'catch the thief'", i.e. it comes after information about manipulation by Russia and other undemocratic entities of elections in the UK, the US or even Romania (the case of Călin Georgescu).
The select club of European conspiracy theorists
As we might expect, ideas of this kind are peddled mainly by the European far right, although the left also makes its voice heard on issues such as food poisoning. Relatively well known to the Romanian public, Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), which is also part of the Dutch government, has spoken more than once about the "dictators in Brussels" and the fact that the Dutch are "slaves" to the Union. Presidential candidate (or not, depending on the outcome of a trial) Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Rally, has called the EU "an artificial construct that increasingly resembles an empire." Herbert Kickl, leader of another Freedom Party, the FPÖ in Austria, called for an end to the EU's "climate communism." Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is known to have made a punching bag out of his former protector and financier, George Soros. Three-time Slovak Prime Minister Janez Janša considers some MEPs to be "puppets" of the same Soros, while Poland's Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the anti-EU PiS party that governed the country and retains the presidency, has stated that the Green Deal is "madness" and is based on "unverified theories."
Adding to these are various secondary figures, members of national parliaments or MEPs, who sometimes amplify, sometimes want to come forward with ideas from the aforementioned "message kit." Plus, political outsiders, such as the aforementioned Renaud Camus, with his "replacement theory," or the British David Icke, a former footballer, TV presenter, author (or graphomaniac), and public speaker who has peddled countless conspiracy theories, from reptilians (who, of course, also rule the European Union) to COVID and 5G. The ridiculousness of such ideas did not prevent him from gaining notoriety to the point of being banned from the Netherlands as a danger to public order.
Conspiracies and conspiracy theorists in Romania
Unsurprisingly, the narratives circulating in Romania are similar or related to those in Europe and around the world. What is interesting is how they are expressed in the local context. For example, the narrative about digital control took off after 2009, when biometric passports were introduced, which leads us to believe that it is likely to take off again now, with the introduction of electronic identity cards. Nonsense such as the link between COVID and 5G is more popular among a population with very poor PISA test results. Ideas about Brussels violating national sovereignty are also more prevalent than others, in the wake of populist outrage from older extremists such as Corneliu Vadim Tudor. The fact that buying an electric car is a greater financial effort for Romanians than for prosperous Germans or Dutch also predisposes the public to more eccentric ideas about stopping global warming.
Protests related to the "muzzle" and anti-COVID restrictions were also more natural for Romanians who lacked confidence in the health system and authorities, given that the authorities overreacted in the early stages of the pandemic, both out of an excess of caution that characterized other countries as well, and knowing that they were dealing with an undisciplined public. In terms of "poisons," the narratives were amplified not only by the food conservatism of large segments of the population, but also by the pace of change over the last 15-20 years. In addition to fears about crickets and synthetic meat, it is worth mentioning the idea that "the European Union is poisoning us with E numbers," which gained traction some time ago, after Romania's accession to the EU. The so-called "E numbers," or food additives, only appeared on packaging after 2007, but this was not because they did not exist before, but because the EU required us to list them. The European Union has one of the strictest regimes in the world when it comes to additives, and these are approved after rigorous scientific evaluations by the EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority. It is difficult to know what kind of additives and what doses of such substances we ingested during the communist era or in the 1990s.
The "traditional family" is hardly worth mentioning anymore, as it has become the subject of referendums and public marches. It is worth remembering, however, that there were many centrist politicians who were positive or remained silent on a subject with clear conspiratorial connotations.
In contrast, Romanians are less concerned with European digital identity or the digital euro (which is logical, given that even the media has not shown much interest in these topics) or with the "great replacement" and "genocide by substitution." A few months ago, they were surprised by the statements of an AUR member regarding foreign couriers roaming Romania. However, as our country does not have as substantial migration as France, Belgium, Germany, or the Netherlands, nor cases of related crimes or offenses, the extremist public has fewer reasons for outrage.
It is also interesting to see how the theme of "electoral manipulation by Brussels" was applied in Romania: the European Union was accused of canceling the first round of the 2024 presidential elections, even though the decision was made by the Constitutional Court, which has no connection to the EU.
As for conspiracy theorists, they are well known to the public, from precursors such as Pavel Coruț or Corneliu Vadim Tudor, to contemporaries such as George Simion, Gheorghe Piperea, Cristian Terheș, Petre Daea, and, of course, Călin Georgescu. Their statements are also well known; what is noteworthy is their rather inarticulate and stupid nature, appealing to a segment of the public that has gone through school without learning much. While propagandists are usually associated with the far right, sometimes even Romanian centrist parties "succumb" to ideas of this kind. It is hilarious how Marcel Ciolacu tried to ride the populist wave on the PSD bandwagon by initiating a law banning insect flour in traditional Romanian products. The law is somewhat ambiguous, as it does not contravene EU regulations, but it is pointless, as the regime for traditional products is already clearly defined by law. Nevertheless, it was voted for by 171 MPs and promulgated by former President Iohannis.
Conspiracy theories, a tool for undermining democratic institutions
Conspiracy theories of this kind undermine the European Union, and any system of government, in several ways. In addition to directly challenging competence and efficiency, they create mistrust in democratic institutions. Added to this is more diffuse discontent, which can turn into protests, as we have seen during the pandemic. Furthermore, conspiracy theories bring together communities, both virtual and offline, that are receptive to other related anti-establishment political objectives.
Otherwise, any conspiracy narrative is attractive primarily because it is simplistic. It replaces complicated state and supranational structures (the UN, the EU, the World Economic Forum) with single actors ("the global occult," "the Elders of Zion") and reduces complex contexts (global warming, politicians' reactions, and the side effects of the transformations it dictates) to easily understandable statements ("the Green Deal is a means of control"), which also identify the guilty parties. All of this is much easier for a certain type of frustrated voter to understand than, say, Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi's groundbreaking ideas from 100 years ago or the Treaty on European Union and the (limited) degree to which EU states partially relinquish their sovereignty.
The fact that conspiracy theories are rarely original should come as no surprise. Simple, incriminating narratives cannot be very original, and what is more, a dose of familiarity or déjà vu on the part of the recipient of the message helps to persuade them, just as rhetorical clichés used in advertising and the mass media do. However, attributing the similarity and kinship of narratives to a single source, which disseminates them through covert means (fake social media accounts, paid "independent" analysts on TV, etc.), is in itself a somewhat conspiratorial idea. Social media, traditional media, and the political classes of all EU states, and beyond, often act on command, based on pre-established messages. When similar ideas reappear at different times and places, however, it is more a case of sources of inspiration, "conspiracy plagiarism," which cannot be proven as such because those involved will not claim authorship, for obvious reasons. The downside is that all this "memetics" of conspiracy is intertwined in a Zeitgeist that, at some point, threatens to destabilize the consensus on truth.
