British taxpayers are funding propaganda for school children designed to make them support the European Union. According to the European Commission website in the UK, a free book called The Mystery of the Golden Stars is available free of charge to schools and similar organisations.
According to the website, the material is designed ‘to introduce some aspects of the European Union in a child-friendly way to upper junior school-aged children in the UK. It allows children to discover what the EU is; how it works and how it may be relevant to them, in a fun and stimulating way.’
Earlier this week, the Liberal Democrats were condemned by UKIP for saying that 16 and 17-year-olds should be able to vote in an In/Out referendum on British membership of the EU.
UKIP MEP Patrick O’Flynn said young people were more likely to be pro-European because they had been ‘brainwashed’ and accused the Lib Dems of trying to “gerrymander” the result of any vote.
The party’s deputy leader Suzanne Evans said the material provided to schools included “colouring-in books on the Common Agricultural Policy for primary schoolchildren, right up to research projects at university level”.
One such book is called The Mystery of the Golden Stars aimed at primary school children which sees two boys enjoying a visit to Brussels before stumbling on the puzzle of a piece of ‘European Heritage’ – a Roman crown – helped by a Belgian girl whose father works for a secretive government agency.
The ‘cursed crown’ is made up of 12 golden stars which the father has hidden somewhere in the Belgian capital and the children use interactive classroom challenges for the readers to help them ‘solve the clues. The book also details the ‘positive’ work of the European Union:
‘According to my guidebook, this is called the Berlaymont. It’s the headquarters of the European Commission, which helps run the EU,’ replied Josh. ‘People from all over Europe work there and apparently they use 24 different languages.’
‘Why not 28?’ asked Ricki.
‘Some countries like Germany and Austria speak the same language, ’ Josh went on. ‘And these are all EU flags, right?’ Ricki wanted to know. ‘Hang on,’ said Josh, ‘I just got an e‐mail … yes! The guys at school have solved it, look.’ Josh read aloud, ‘The EU flag consists of 12 golden stars in a circle on a blue background. The stars symbolise harmony among the peoples of Europe. The number twelve is a symbol of perfection and the circle is a symbol of unity.’
According to the European Commission, the activities take a ‘cross-curricular approach, including six different links to the curriculum ((geography, maths, history, English, science and design & technology.)
The book also tries to clear up any stereotypes Brits may have about life on the continent, including not be able to drink water from the taps.
‘But I was told you can’t drink from the taps on the continent,’ replied Ricki. ‘Wow, you are behind the times,’ scolded Maddy. ‘It’s perfectly safe because of the strict laws they made right here in the European Parliament.’
However, it fails to mention that in every single meeting room, bottles of mineral water are placed at every single desk, with regular top ups from Parliament staff.
In the end, once the two boys had been educated on the importance of the European Parliament (‘The next clue tells us to find the name of a large room in the Parliament building where they are debating right now whether kids should be allowed to read whichever books we want or not.’) the twelve golden stars are found at the Schumann roundabout by the European Commission building and the priceless crown displayed in a museum in Rome in an exhibition opened by the President of the European Commission.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ the president began. ‘It is my honour to open this new exhibit today. The Corona Crassus is a truly remarkable artefact and an invaluable piece of European heritage” he says of the crown that throughout the book is referred to as from ancient Rome.
Commenting on the book, Ms Evans said that it was “amazing” that this “super-state which is apparently so wonderful needs to spend EUR2.4 billion annually on advertising itself!”
“In 2013 that was a larger advertising budget than Coca-Cola’s.”
She added that she found the book incensing, saying “not only are they peddling this propaganda in our schools and giving a very one-sided views, they are dressing it up as some kind of benevolent philanthropy when it’s really sinister indoctrination and all ultimately paid for by the British tax payer to the tune o £9billion a year.”
The European Commission in the UK has defended these sorts of publications, saying they are needed to balance out the “robust positions” expressed daily in Britain in national newspapers.
“If – and only if – schools contact us for information material, we supply it” a spokesman said.
“It is for schools to make sure pupils are aware of the wide range of views on the EU expressed daily in Britain.”
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