People were largely content to leave the job of constructing Europe to the political elite without asking too many

People were largely content to leave the job of constructing Europe to the political elite without asking too many questions.In the boom years of the late 1980s, general approval reached a peak. The prospect of the single market raised high hopes, while the dynamism of Jacques Delors, the former commission president, helped to promote an impression of progress. The public accepted that integration, in general, was a good thing, and that it was being promoted to prevent war and produce economic benefits. Only 20 per cent of Europeans have heard of the forthcoming IGC on Europe, although it is billed as a historic watershed.The British have always had their very British opinions on Europe.

But for decades most continental citizens took the whole project for granted. Until the 1990s there was, as the pollsters’ jargon describes it, a “permissive consensus” concerning Europe in most of the member states. We believed we had the support of the people,” Mr Teltschik said “It was a mistake. We should have explained what we were doing and why we were doing it more than we did. The goals were important and it was important to explain them.”Opinion polls only hint at the depth of disillusionment; there are many other indicators.

There is a growing tendency to blame Brussels for economic ills and loss of cultural identity. The media in many member states run more and more anti-EU stories, both mythical and true, suggesting there is a public appetite for Euro-scepticism.Ignorance about the way that Europe really works suggests there is apathy and confusion. Horst Teltschik, who helped negotiate Maastricht as an adviser to Helmut Kohl, the German Chancellor, admits Europe’s political leaders were wrong not to seek greater public support for the treaty at the time.”We were too self-confident. Rather, it is likely to confuse and alienate people further.Only five years ago, John Major welcomed the results of the last IGC with a triumphant “game, set and match”.