What is France's best known and best loved satirical newspaper, one that is often considered one of the best in Europe? No doubt about it: Le Canard Enchaîné. But what headline did it splash right across the full width of its front page recently? Answer: Brussels imposes false rosé. So here we have in one single line, and with such striking effect, two commonplace lies about the EU and how it works. First of all, Brussels is used to mean the European Union as a whole, Brussels something abstract, bureaucratic and generally evil, when (as Agence Europe has already written) “EU initiatives and management are increasing the product of complex institutional debate, imperfect, certainly, but often lively, contradictory (in that the whole range of tendency and opinion are expressed) and quite effective”. So then, an inaccurate banality. Secondly, and this is more serious, there is wrong information. Wrong because in the light of the reactions of several agriculture ministers and, in particular, of the European Parliament, the Commission withdrew its proposal (see our newsletter No. 9916). This only being a proposal, it no longer exists. “Brussels” does not impose anything: there are European projects which are discussed and debated according to Community procedures, each institution having its own responsibilities and competences, taking into account all interests and all reactions. Prejudices, however, die hard. (F.R.)