The cost of selling the EU

While we’re discussing Rand (here and here) and the dangers of bureaucratisation and centralisation, it’s worth pointing out this astonishing fact from Open Europe’s latest bulletin:

“Open Europe has published new research which shows that the EU is spending billions of euros a year on initiatives to promote itself and its central aim of ‘ever closer union’.  In 2008 alone, it spent more than 2.4 billion euros, which is more than Coca Cola’s global advertising budget.”