I have a family member of retirement age who got into the habit of anonymously expressing their love of the EU in the comments section of a local newspaper.

After a few months of this they received a phone call on their landline warning them that such public expressions are inappropriate and that there could be consequences should they not find a new hobby.

I too love the EU but I loved it much more 15 years ago.

Someone at the newspaper, or someone in state security?

Not 100% sure as they didn't introduce themselves but whoever called was able to get the phone number that the IP address was linked to and I assume both would have to have been involved in order to do that.

Creepy. If you don’t mind me asking - eastern eu?

Yes; former communist but not former soviet union. Old habits die hard I guess.

Not sure if we’re talking about the same situation, but the last time I was in Bulgaria, there was massive brain drain and a lot of, eh, ‘false nostalgia’ for a very different past.

But tons of money coming in from the EU. I can imagine a lot of public quiet, private ‘angst’ about the kind of situation you’re describing.

Wild guess - Romania? (If not Bulgaria)

Your guess is correct. However I've not personally witnessed any nostalgia for communism in Romania though.

If this story is true then I'm suddenly in favor of brexit while before I thought it was worse for everyone. Of course I live in the US and so my opinion should be of zero interest on anyway. Still if you live in the EU I would hope you are concerned.

What is this load of BS, nobody from the EU called because of facebook comments, your family member lied.

I never said someone from the EU called, we think it was someone from the national government. Or it could just be someone from the newspaper who knows someone at the telecom company and they decided to have a laugh.