The European Union plans to launch a Russian-language channel in Russia to engage in counter-propaganda. Izvestia reports that the new channel will be presented by crews in all regions in Russia and will convey the Western interpretation of current events in the world on all key topics.

At first, the channel will broadcast on the Internet, and the costs will be paid by the European Union and private investors. “As planned, journalists should be reporting from all regions of the Russian Federation so that news stories are prepared as soon as possible and do not lose relevance. The EU has long wanted to do something similar, so that the European interpretation of events contrasted with the presentation of information in the Russian state-owned media,” said one of the Izvestia interviewees familiar with the launch of the TV channel.

The European Commission comments on the launch of the new channel neutrally: “At least among our colleagues in the commission, we are not aware of such a project,” said the press service of the EC, stressing that the European Union is already interacting with the Russian-speaking EU population. “The European External Relations Service (EEU) has a Russian version of the site, which provides all the latest information about the European Union. Moreover, the Russian language is actively used by the EU delegations in the countries of the Eastern Partnership and Central Asia.”

Jiří Mashtalka, the deputy head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the Russian Federation, believes that the launch of the channel fits into the mainstream of the EU’s foreign policy: “In addition, it seems to me that this is a very funny reaction to the activities of the Russian channels. It would be more useful if the European Union began to speak the truth and ceased to turn people against each other, objectively evaluating certain international events.”