Afraid of Being an Island Unto Itself

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The British government "is using taxpayers' money to hire a PR agency to extol the virtues of (European Union) membership and explain why the European constitution is a 'success for Britain.'" The London-based firm Geronimo PR received a £40,000 ($US74,900) contract to mount an "extensive communications campaign," prior to a public referendum on the constitution, likely in 2006. The British Foreign Office said the campaign is to inform, not persuade, the public. However, a Foreign Office memo obtained by the Financial Times said that rejecting the constitution would "jeopardise our position in the EU. ... It would marginalise and isolate us."