Concerned about its remoteness from residents, the EU is using local government to convey its message, which is ironic, considering local government's own image problems, says Michael Burton.

If local government thinks it has problems getting its message across to voters, then this pales into insignificance compared with what the EU faces. Eurocrats are highly aware that their image among residents of member states is abysmal. The referendum defeats in France and the Netherlands over the constitution last year were a huge no-confidence vote. They know their Brussels-based world exists in a bubble in which highly-educated and indeed, idealistic enthusiasts confer among themselves, while the world outside carries on oblivious. They desperately want to change this, since it completely undermines their mandate, but short of a trillion-euro public relations campaign – which will never happen – the EU will have to use other institutions to convey its message to a disinterested audience.