The foreign affairs ministry is to stop funding campaigns to promote and explain EU issues to the Dutch public, European affairs minister Ben Knapen said at the weekend.

Instead, ministers themselves will be more proactive in getting over a ‘realistic picture’ of the EU to the man on the street, the Telegraaf reports.
The Europa fund, set up 10 years ago, has an annual budget of €2.5m.
The Telegraaf says Knapen recently launched a special page on the social networking site Facebook devoted to encouraging young people to debate European issues.