On June 15, in the 5th episode of “The Decline of Europe,” hosts Bacho Odisharia and Guri Sultanishvili discussed Germany’s energy independence and citizens around the world affected by fraudulent call centers. Bacho Odisharia claims that the European Union shut down a nuclear plant in Germany and prohibited the country from being energy independent. In the same episode, Guri Sultanishvili says that the targets of fraudulent call centers are only citizens of European countries and Canada and that there are no victims in the United States.
Bacho Odisharia [21:27]: “Germany is a textbook example of how Euro-bureaucracy prohibited a country from attaining energy independence – because they shut down its nuclear plant and left it dependent on Russian gas, in reality. Because if a member state doesn’t follow this regulation, it can no longer remain a member of the European Union.”
Guri Sultanishvili [27:20] “If you pay attention to how call centers operate – for example, they’re allowed to rob European pensioners from anywhere in the world, but have you heard anything about Americans? No. It doesn’t happen to Americans. And Canadians are targeted in the same way. Why do I think they allow this? Tell me, who is the segment harmed by call centers? It’s the elderly, the old European generation, who long for sovereignty and cannot support this cultural Marxism and these new theories. They are state-minded, inherently anti-systemic, and they are the ones being bankrupted – do you understand?”
The claims made by the hosts of “The Decline of Europe” are disinformation: 1) The decision to shut down nuclear power plants in Germany was made by the country’s own political forces; the reason behind the decision was not the EU directive but the Fukushima disaster. 2) FBI reports show that American pensioners are also among the targets of fraudulent call centers, just like Europeans.
- The Claim About Germany
The information spread by Bacho Odisharia regarding the shutdown of Germany’s nuclear power plants and the European Union allegedly prohibiting energy independence is not true. The decision to shut down the nuclear plants was an internal political decision made by Germany itself. There is no evidence in open sources that the EU issued any directive on the matter. The process began in 2011 during Chancellor Angela Merkel’s tenure and concluded in 2023, when Germany shut down its last three nuclear power plants. During this period, the country witnessed protests both in favor of and against the decision, along with political debates.
The reason behind the decision was not an EU directive but the Fukushima disaster that occurred in Japan in 2011. After that, Germany decided to gradually phase out its nuclear power. In 2023, Germany’s Environment Minister, Steffi Lemke, a representative of the Green Party, said:
“The risks of nuclear power are ultimately uncontrollable; that’s why the nuclear phaseout makes our country safer and avoids more nuclear waste.”
In 2022, reports emerged that Germany opposed an EU proposal to include nuclear energy in its climate strategy, reaffirming its decision to shut down nuclear power plants. At the time, the Associated Press reported on a draft EU plan suggesting that nuclear energy and natural gas, under certain conditions, could be considered sustainable for investment purposes.
As for the current situation, following the Russia-Ukraine war, Germany stopped direct imports of Russian gas. However, Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) still reaches Germany through European ports. Germany’s dependence on Russian gas has been significantly reduced, though not completely eliminated.
It is also worth noting that, according to Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, every EU country retains sovereign rights to choose its own energy sources. Member states have full sovereign authority to decide whether or not to use nuclear energy and what type of energy they prefer. The European Union does not prohibit its member states from becoming energy independent.
Screenshot from the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
For example, France, which is a member state of the European Union, actively uses nuclear energy. Approximately 70% of France’s electricity comes from nuclear power. In 2014, the government aimed to reduce the share of nuclear energy to 50%, but in 2023, it abandoned this approach. In 2022, France announced the construction of six new reactors. Currently, France has 18 commercial nuclear power plants.
Photo: World Nuclear Association
- The Claim About Call Centers
In the same TV program, Guri Sultanishvili claims that the targets of fraudulent call centers are only Europeans and Canadians. According to him, Americans are not affected. This claim is also false.
For example, in the FBI’s 2023 Elder Fraud Report, which focuses on elderly citizens living in the United States, it is noted that the total losses caused by call centers exceeded $1.3 billion. Of this amount, 58% of the total losses were attributed to victims aged 60 and over, meaning that older Americans lost nearly $770 million. As a result of these fraud schemes, some seniors completely emptied their retirement accounts and borrowed from family members and friends to cover the losses in these scams. Some cases resulted in victims committing suicide.
Screenshot from the FBI report
In addition, a 2024 report also confirms that elderly individuals in the U.S. are frequently victims of fraudulent schemes. According to the FBI, during the reporting period, older Americans lost $4.8 billion to scams. People aged 50-59 lost an additional $2.5 billion. These figures cover not only call center fraud but all forms of financial scams.
These data clearly show that Americans are also targets of the same global fraudulent call centers that may harm Europeans. Therefore, Guri Sultanishvili’s claim that there are no American pensioners affected by call centers is not true.
Prepared by Lika Gvenetadze
Myth Detector Lab
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