Interesting thread, especially with Gervase's contribution.

To prove his point, have a look a the "Europe day" BS thread. The vile xenophobic ranting of virtually the entire British press on any European Union topic - most of the broadsheets behave like tabloids when it comes to Europe - means that ordinary citizens have a wildly distorted perception of what the EU is about. One of the results of this is that the government is afraid to run a referendum on the outcome of the convention which is currently discussing the future constitutional order of the Union.

Incidentally, the Commission website blickied in the other thread was established for the specific purpose of refuting the lies published almost daily in the British press.