The European Commissioners responsible for the rule of law, Vera Jourova and Didier Reynders, on Tuesday stressed the value of memory work against disinformation on the eve of the European Day of Remembrance to commemorate the victims of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.
In a joint statement issued ahead of the commemoration, the two commissioners singled out Russian President Vladimir Putin for special mention.
“The Russian state apparatus distorts history and spreads conspiracies to poison our democracies with malicious disinformation. We will continue our work to promote memory work and provide facts to dismantle these distortions, wherever we discover them,” they said.
The European Day of Remembrance has been held every year since 2009 on the day of the signing of the 1939 German-Soviet Pact, which was followed by the start of the Second World War.
“In February last year, Europe and the whole world watched in horror and disbelief as Vladimir Putin brought war, persecution and illegal occupation back to our continent," the two Commissioners said. "We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, because the purpose of this war is the defence of our democracies,” they stressed.
Ms. Jourova and Mr. Reynders also recalled that the post-World War II period made it possible to build “a peaceful Europe, a Union of democracies.”
