Promoting EU Integration

That is the headline for a single article in this week's European Voice, but really, on reading it, it should be the strapline for the whole newspaper.

As director of Belgium's European Movement office, it is Abram's task to lead her team of four in educating Belgian citizens about how the EU works. No easy task these days, in the face of increased apathy about European integration, but one that the 39-year-old relishes, even after ten years. “It is my dream job,” says Abram with a grin.

The European Voice or European Vice as I used to call it describes itself like this,

the only weekly newspaper with an independent view of the EU.

And furthermore it claims that it is

a high-quality read and staunchly independent in its reporting and opinions. It is not - and never will be - tied in any way to a member state, party or point of view.

Utter balderdash, There was a moment, a few years back when it tried to become a tad more critical, (see the illustrated edition of 2002) but after a few editions I understand that big advertisers were advised by people within the Commission that its free distribution network in the European Commission could be curtailed.

Suitably chastened it has kept it strongly independent pro-European Union views ever since.

Touchy are we?

Here is a lift from the back page of last week's European Voice - the only bit people read. It seems to have created a bit of a storm. It concerns a Belgian MEP and some very thin skin.

How are we to take seriously an MEP who must now be reffered to as the
"rapporteur for toys"? Marrianne Thyssen, a Belgian centre-right MEP, has been
assigned the task of drafting the Parliament's report on the on a proposed
revision of the toys directive.... Up to now Thyssen's claim to fame is that she is chairman of the Parliament's Beer Club, an altogether more serious task and one befitting a Belgian MEP whose territory includes the home of InBev, the world's largest brewer by volume. A Flemish Christian Democrat, she comes from St-Joris-Weert, on Belgium's linguistic border, to the south of Leuven and at the other end of Meerdaal Wood from Hoegaarden, ancestral home of witbier.

From what I hear she is incandescent with rage about this rather innocous jab in the ribs. So much so that she had to be near physically restrained by the EPP press office fronm firing of a long letter of complaint about the paper's lesse majestie. He rage was focussed on three points. Firstly that they were not taking her role as Toy rapporteur seriously enough. Next that there was a suggestion that she was in the pocket of InBev, a suggestion she felt was beyond the pale, and thirdly that the paper was irresponsible using a picture that had toys drinking. It send out the wrong message to children you know.

Well nobody does take you seriously my dear. You are an MEP, get over it. In bed with InBev, now that is something worth looking into, just to be sure like.
And finally. It is the European Voice for goodness sake, grown adults who are really interested in the EU don't read the European Voice, Commission officials, lobbyists Parliamentarians none of them actually read the thing. The thought that some child might pick it up and think, "Oh look toys drink toy beer", Hmmm, "I must go out and get plastered".

Nah that seems just silly. Methinks we should look to her brewery links.

Picture credit

Oh and I note that the voice has not given a picture credit, which is odd seeing as the website they nicked the picture from specifically asks for one.

"Use them (the pictures) to your heart's content, just don't post them elsewhere as your own".