Love is … QMV, say the ‘EuroBandits’

Date: 09/10/2003

By David Cronin

IT MAY not exactly be the sexiest of subjects, but a trendy communications company is doing its best to sell the idea of EU qualified majority voting (QMV) - in the UK, of all places.

The EuroBandits agency, based in London's Covent Garden, is behind the initiative. It has produced thousands of 'I love QMV' postcards in a bid to engage young people in EU affairs.

EuroBandits' two founders, Tommy Hutchinson, 39, and 23-year-old Chris Quigley, came up with the campaign after reading about the draft constitution now being discussed by the intergovernmental conference (IGC).

They promptly "fell in love" with the idea of QMV, the principal method of decision-making in the Council of Ministers, based on allocating votes to member states according to population size. Under the draft constitution, this would be replaced by a simpler 'double majority' system under which decisions would require support from a majority of states (ie at least 13) who must also represent at least 60% of the Union's population.

The governments of the UK and Ireland, however, want to maintain voting by unanimity over areas such as taxation policy and foreign affairs to protect national sovereignty, while Spain and Poland want to stick with the existing QMV system.

Hutchinson, Quigley and their supporters have distributed 'I love QMV' postcards at the annual conferences of Britain's three main political parties over the past three weeks. The initiative enjoys cross-party support.

Hutchinson, who was narrowly beaten when standing for Labour against the present Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith in the 1997 UK election, says there is a serious message behind the fun facade.

He said: "The cards are really the hook to grab people's attention. The idea is to get people visit our 'I love QMV' website and take part in a questionnaire on the draft constitution. We want to find out what, if anything, people know about the draft treaty and the results will be forwarded to the UK government and EU institutions. QMV may sound hugely boring - but its potential effect on the lives of all EU citizens is significant."

EuroBandits was launched a year ago, with the support of Europhile comedian Eddie Izzard. The company runs creative campaigns and events, working with EU businesses and governments, to target young people across the Union. Its next project is Fashion 10, a London show to celebrate the "creativity and diversity of New Europe" and timed to coincide with enlargement next May.

Visit www.eurobandits.com

In a bid to engage young people in European Union affairs, a London-based agency, EuroBandits, has produced thousands of 'I love QMV' postcards.

http://www.eurobandits.com/ http://www.eurobandits.com/

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