Brussels officials are so worried that the European elections in June 2009 will expose the EU as deeply unpopular that they have set aside £27.5 million for a publicity campaign aimed at persuading people to vote.

The Daily Telegraph reports EU vice-president Margot Wallström as noting that "in next year's elections, the legitimacy of your parliament, and that of the Union as a whole, is at stake."

The paper says officials fear that the denial of referendums across Europe on the Lisbon EU Treaty, combined with the Irish No vote and a deepening recession, will prove to be catastrophic political mix.

Brussels fears that voter turnout will fall even below the 45% (in the UK 38.9%) recorded in 2004. The Commission is throwing money into the campaign to "mobilise our European and local networks, NGOs and other organisations with whom the Commission works", to target women's magazines and "to support a blogging project with young journalists" .

UKIP leader Nigel Farage MEP comments: "With this the Commission both throws down the gauntlet, and recognises, finally, that there are question marks over the EU's legitimacy as a political project. Well, we in UKIP will gladly take up the challenge."