EU to Beef Up Its Missions in Africa, Asia by Sending Disinformation Experts - Borrell

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2023) The European Union intends to strengthen its foreign missions in Africa, Latin America and Asia by sending experts to identify and combat disinformation, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday.

"I am looking into options to ensure better and more strategic regional presence of our Strat-comm experts. All our (European Union) Delegations will be equipped with experts on countering disinformation in many parts of the world in order to make our voice be heard better," Borrell said at a conference on foreign information manipulation and interference in Brussels.

He noted the importance of what he termed combating disinformation in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

"So, my call is that we need to invest more in working with our partners around the globe on this issue.

Being more present, expressing better the realities, engaging in different languages and media. We are used to (speaking) English, but I can tell you that there are a lot of people around the world who do not understand English. So, we have to address them in their language. Otherwise, they are completely out of what we are saying or what we are trying to explain," Borrell said.

Earlier in the day, Borrell announced the creation of a so-called Information Sharing and Analysis Center to tackle disinformation and foreign information manipulation. He also specifically accused Russia and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is now visiting Africa, of spreading misinformation there.