EU's €100 million insult
Posted, January 25, 2012 @ 14:00
Plans unveiled today for a multi-million pound visitor centre telling the history of the European Union were condemned by Conservatives as "a costly insult to people's intelligence".
The European House of History, a lavish showpiece detailing the EU's formation and ideals, will be created in Brussels over the next two years with more than £40 million of taxpayers' money.
But Martin Callanan, leader of Britain's Conservative MEPs, said: "Not only is it a shocking waste of money in such difficult times, it also looks like blatant propaganda for the federalist view of Europe."
Outlining the project to journalists, former European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering said it would cost €52 million between now and the centre's opening in 2014 to convert the nearby Eastman Building and create the exhibits and facilities.
But critics said the true cost would exceed €100 million when the cost of purchasing the building was included.
Mr Pöttering angrily denied suggestions that the centre's academic board showed a bias to his own federalist group the centre-Right grouping the European People's Party.
His announcement follows the opening last year of a so-called Parliamentarium visitor centre in Brussels, trumpeting the workings and achievements of the European Parliament at a set-up cost of £15 million.
Mr Callanan said: "The House of History will make that look like a sideshow. Spending on this scale is plainly preposterous when national governments are making really tough savings decisions to avoid racking up yet more damaging debt. Once again the EU shows itself to be entirely immune to economic reality.
"The people behind this escapade claim it will be historically objective. But from their mindset that means objective within a context of European federalism.
"All shades of opinion will be reflected, provided they promote the dream of more integration, more Europe, less sovereignty.
"The project has already been roundly condemned when first floated. Yet the supposed brains behind it didn't listen to the advice. Instead they plough on with a plan that amounts to a hugely costly insult to people's intelligence."