Well it’s nice to know that the people who attended the meeting in Warsaw (Democracy in the European Union, more or less) had such a great time. It would have been nice to be part of such a self-regarding bunch. Accepting for a moment the light-hearted tone of Krzysztof Bobinski’s report, and my general sympathy for their cause, I was saddened to see the ‘Euro troops’ one again doing the only thing they know how: retreating into their bunkers to hatch more grands projets for the construction of the new order. The only problem is, they don’t seem to see that this is what got them into trouble the first time round. The Charge of the Light Brigade has nothing on this lot! Such people are by definition primarily political; they are also part of the educated Euro-political-elite that to a far greater than average extent already accepts the need for, and benefits of, European integration. What they utterly failed to comprehend, either during their mutual wound-licking session, or more generally, is that the vast majority of the European population doesn’t share their zeal. The general tone of the meeting seems to have been “how do we do what we do better, so that next time we take ‘the people’ (whoever they are) with us?” Right; the strategy failed last time so we had better repeat it, only stronger. It’s bound to work. Lousewies van der Laan said, “We struggled and failed to come up with a convincing one-liner explaining to the man in the street what the European Union can do for him”. Well you’re not going to do it by thrusting even more politics down his throat! It was all very well for her to pour her scorn on those groups she blamed for the Dutch No vote – but what has she done to offer an alternative interpretation for those masses of non-political Europeans? The reason why 'we' failed to come up with a one-liner is that the political classes don't know any longer enough about ordinary life to know what is convincing to the man in the street in the first place. You only have to read the articles on this site, by the likes of Adam Chmielewski, elegant though they are, to understand why Europe doesn't 'connect' - the discussion is still conducted in the language of political philosophy, not that of the street. She concluded “…any further steps on integration must include, consult and persuade the people with them – and that means more referenda.” Oh great: more chances for the man in the street to show he doesn’t give a toss about politics, whether of the European or any other kind. Oh – and is she saying that the EU hasn’t actually done those first things all along, despite what they have been telling us? She and others believe that schools and the media should be directed to teach European issues without the slightest appreciation of the irony that this is exactly the kind of interventionism that people resent. I agree that education is exactly what is needed – but first you need to allow people to appreciate the need for it – educate them to be educated, if you like. Even ‘President Blair’ needs this, since he is letting the U.K.’s only school-level course in European Studies close for lack of support. What has Mrs. Van der Laan got in mind for him? People accept that History, Maths, Physics or what-have-you will be taught in schools, because they see the need – but they wouldn’t see anything more than political indoctrination in such a move by the E.U. So we can conclude that the only solution this particular Euro-tribe could find was to give us more of the same and hope that next time ‘the people see sense’. Well I don’t think it will work. What they need to understand is that they need to do less, not more – at least in a political sense. The trouble is, such instinctively political animals don’t know how to live in a non-political milieu. Granted, it is somewhat counter-intuitive to take your hands off the wheel of a swerving car, but sometimes over-steering can only make things worse. What the politicians and their lackeys need to do is get out of the European arena. Of course they are necessary to conduct the essential mechanics, but they should stop trying to make themselves both the centre of the EU – and worse still, loved by its citizens. They would find public affection for Europe growing much more quickly if they realised that Europe has to mean more than politics - or politicians. It already does mean much more in terms of what people buy in their local shop than most of them realise, but it also has to mean people they know and can communicate with, traditions they understand and feel loyal to, places they visit, ways of life they follow and tastes they share. None of that can be achieved by politicians telling us that we ought to do or feel these things. That will most likely achieve the opposite – as shown by the increasing nationalism of many parts of Europe, even the most 'communitaire' ones. What the EU ought to do is recede into the background and start exploring the ways to let people make the Europe for themselves. It will be a long process – the work of generations – but there is no other way. It has generally done a good job with the single market and the environment; it could do more in the way of transport and communications to help people to move around even more; rather than subsidising our cows, it could pay for language lessons and cultural exchanges for those who want them – and it could show greater (hands-off) support for the self-help schemes that I know for certain the more interested parts of the European population are making for themselves. The only way to let The People make Europe their own is for the politicians to stop telling them that they must. The politicians have already created a sufficient framework; they should now do less and give people the space and time to let it happen. Message was edited by: sandistock