why are you downvoting him ? he is right . There is some level of effort to sell the EU ' s arguments but it is has zero reach . Governments normally don ' t advertise themselves , they are bureaucracies after all . Politicians do . The EU does not have a professional cadre of politicians . The media spherePoliticians exchange favours with the media politicians generate news and the media delivvers their messages They are part showmen after all . Or they should be . No one from the regular media is interested in selling the pro EU legislation because noone is making an effort from the EU side to turn them palatable for the media . the EU needs a program , a mandate . Trump or Orban would be able to sell the EU for the same reason Merkell won ' t . But . orban is not interested in that . Juncker would be , but he is beholden to the Council and the EP not to the people of the Union . The EP comprises national politicians and their elections are barely more than the extrapolation of the national politics . Which is detrimental to the federal level direct democracy . The EP needs to investigate the option of ban the national parties from the EP .