By Michelle Fitzpatrick and Bruno Waterfield - 26th April 2006
Cakes and cafés are the Austrian EU presidency’s secret weapon to sweeten up citizens on next week’s Europe day.
The Austrian EU presidency is to give May 9 a theme of Café d’Europe in a bid to turn on uninterested or hostile citizens.
“Cafés, perhaps more than any other institution, stand for communication and local culture. They are a symbol of our common European heritage,” states the EU presidency website.
Discussions between high-ranking European politicians and ordinary Europeans are on the menu in 27 cafés in European capitals.
“Questions will be asked, ideas aired, creative and visionary approaches proposed. The core issue is the diversity and colourful nature of EU,” runs the press release.
Writers will be attempting to give Europe day and the EU a narrative, one offering composed for the occasion is “temptress Europe”.
“This theme will be taken up by all the writers and members of the public in the coffeehouses and individually interpreted in a variety of ways,” suggests Vienna.
As if the EU were not sweet enough already, the Cafés d’Europe are to lure in the punters with a selection of European cakes and sweets.
“They will all receive the European recipe leaflet ‘sweet Europe’ as a give away.”
Europe Day will also be marked with the publication of a European newspaper, in German and English, compiled by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
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