Propagandising the EU

The EU have spent some more money on trying to get the European public to support the EU. The UK effort is centred on The EU and Me. Whilst the site starts with the rubric:

'The UK, as most of us know, is a net contributor to the EU budget. Therefore it’s understandable that people in this country want to learn more about how we benefit from our collective contribution. On this website you can find out how the EU helps with:

* Moving around Europe freely and safely
* Giving UK consumers a fair deal
* Making our food and environment safer
* Fighting crime and policing borders

'

It is unfortunate that the first news story about the benefits of the EU to the UK is this one:

'The European Commission is today asking the UK Government to repay €3.779m (approximately £3.3m) of European agricultural money due to late payments and overshooting the financial ceilings for 2009. This is part of a clawback from 19 EU countries of € 578.5 million of EU farm money unduly spent. This money returns to the EU budget because of non-compliance with EU rules or inadequate control procedures on agricultural expenditure. Member States are responsible for paying out and checking expenditure under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the Commission is required to ensure that Member States have made correct use of the funds.'

That will get the British leaping to support the EU, won't it?

Of course the BBC are terribly supportive of the new site:

'The European Commission is making a fresh effort to persuade Britons they benefit from EU membership, with the launch of a new website.

The website, called The EU - What's In It For Me?, promises a "no-nonsense guide to what the EU delivers".

It has sections on travelling and working in Europe, the environment, fighting crime and consumer protection.

Only 36% of Britons polled by Eurobarometer said the UK had benefited from membership - the lowest in the EU.

The website also highlights projects that the EU has helped to fund in each region of the country, and aims to dispel what it describes as myths and "urban legends".

Despite the fact the UK is viewed as one of the most eurosceptical of the 27 member states, more than 80% of Britons who took part in a Gallup poll for the European Commission last year said they knew little or nothing about the EU.
'Filling a gap'

About half of the respondents (47%) said they would be interested in receiving more information.

The European Commission has, for some years, published a pamphlet giving its account of how the European Union influences daily life in the UK, and the new website is designed to do the same job online.

"We are really trying to keep things very practical," said Antonia Mochan, head of media at the European Commission's UK office.

"If someone wants information about the EU health insurance card, for example, they can come and find it. There is a video explaining how it works," she added.'

I especially like the wording 'Despite the fact the UK is viewed as one of the most eurosceptical of the 27 member states'. You see to the BBC the UK population is not Eurosceptic they are just viewed that way. Of course one way of testing this hypothesis would be to hold a referendum on EU membership but then that might prove quite how Eurosceptic the British are and the BBC don't want that.