Newspeak budgets
Sunday, June 7, 2009
European Parliamanent
A low turnout is expected in many EU member states with euro sceptics and anti-EU political parties expected to gain seats.
The European Commission and Parliament stand to see their investment – said to be 27 million euro – persuading voters to turnout may turn out to have been an investment in promoting extremists and anti-EU parties.
But even as voters were going to the polls high level meetings at the European Commission were putting in place departing Commissioner Margot Walstom’s highly expensive “going local” project.
Public relations companies and pseudo news organisations are being contracted to provide positive “news” and information about the EU to local radio, television, and newspapers.
“The European election is expected to show that the public have little confidence or interest in the EU. With the election likely to be held up as a judgement on the EU in general programmes are being put into place to connect with the public using local stations and news outlets but especially Internet television stations that have so far proved to attract minimal viewing figures,” an official told us.
Long serving Brussels journalists say that the plans include by-passing the 1000 plus accredited media correspondents in Brussels. “They are already refusing to answer our questions. The thinking is that Brussels based journalists are too close and too knowledgeable to be relied on not to be critical. Paid for PR companies making television and radio programmes are being contracted.
“Journalists are being recruited to write articles reflecting the EU in a positive light. It is all at the expense of taxpayers who don't like the way things are being run,” one told us this week.
