Wasted EU Spending of the Day

From the Daily Mail (U.K.):

EU bureaucrats have squandered millions of pounds on a study which reached the unsurprising conclusion that fruit is good for you.

An astonishing 13.8 million euros -- some £11.7 million [$17.5 million] -- has been spent on research involving 200 scientists which found that "two apples a day keep cholesterol at bay". Much of the money went on developing and promoting a green-skinned EU superhero called Mr Fruitness designed to persuade children to eat more fruit.


source: July 23rd Daily Mail
caption: Obvious waste: The EU has spent millions on campaigns to encourage healthy eating including the use of a cartoon character, Mr Fruitness

Last night critics said such examples of profligacy go to show that the EU should not be insulated from the kind of spending cuts that member states are making.

A spokesman for Open Europe, the Eurosceptic think-tank, said: 'ridiculous spending like this just goes to show that the EU budget contains plenty of fat that can be trimmed away.

"In these tough economic times, do we really need an EU-funded superhero to tell us that fruit is healthy?"