Cox stresses need to 'sell' Europe

The outgoing President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, has told EU leaders that the low turnout in the European elections highlighted the need for politicians to explain the EU to citizens.

Speaking in Brussels after a meeting with EU leaders, Mr Cox said the rise of anti-EU and populist parties suggested that voters' indifference to the EU was turning into hostility.

"Europe was perhaps the common missing ingredient state by state in this election . . . If you're going to sell Europe, you can't hang about. It needs to be sold early and sold often," he said.

Mr Cox took a gentle swipe at the opaque process for choosing the Commission president, remarking that EU leaders suffered "a degree of indigestion" over dinner in Brussels on Thursday.

"If you are asking me would I, as a democrat, like something more transparent than the Sistine Chapel without the Holy Ghost, the answer is yes," he said.