By Henrietta Billings - 16th March 2005
MEPs have given the go-ahead to a €6.28 million EU constitution information campaign across the 25 member bloc.
At a budgets committee vote in the European Parliament on Tuesday, the funding proposals scraped through with 15 members voting in favour, 10 against and 3 abstentions.
MEPs approved 80 per cent of the proposed €7.68 million fund, designed to raise awareness about the treaty will be targeted at all 25 member states regardless of whether they are holding a referendum or not.
The European Parliament insists that the money is designed to "inform European citizens clearly and objectively about the content of the constitution...in order to promote the active involvement of citizens in the discussions on ratification", according to administrative note.
"This is not a propaganda campaign," a spokesman for the European Parliament told EUpolitix.com.
"We are setting up a campaign on what the constitution is all about. Due to the low turnout at European elections and that the EU remains a mystery for many people on the street, we feel it is our duty to inform EU citizens."
But the vote was blasted by euro-sceptic MEPs who see the money as pro-EU constitution propaganda.
"The decision to use over €8 million of taxpayer's money to promote the 'benefits' of the EU constitution is disgraceful," said UK EPP-ED member Timothy Kirkhope.
"No one believes that this funding is going to be used to explain the detail of the European constitution in an objective way, I fear that it will be a propaganda exercise advocating only the pro-constitution view."
Britain has already said it will decline the money - its portion worth €115,000. And the Czech Republic is also set to turn down its share.
The EU has until the end of 2006 to ratify the constitution in every member state either by referendum or parliamentary vote.
Spain voted in favour of the constitution in February, and France is next up with a referendum on May 29.
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