Sweet Europe ?

The European Union has come up with a new way of selling itself to voters - cake.

To celebrate Europe Day - 9 May is the day a European union was first proposed - the EU's Austrian presidency took over a cafe in each capital to illustrate the continent's culinary richness.

The slogan: "Sweet Europe, let yourself be seduced..."

Europe has been searching for years for something to inspire a new generation of citizens - a generation unimpressed by 60 years of peace and the ending of the continents' Cold War divisions.

The Austrians began their presidency in January with a gathering in Salzburg exploring whether European culture could be harnessed to unite and enthuse younger Europeans and switch them on to the EU.

It coincided with the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth - there were concerts in the cobbled squares, and Salzburg's famous Mozartkugel sweets were handed out free to conference delegates.

The acceding countries, Bulgaria and Romania, were included, so the full menu ran to 27 cakes and pastries.

As Austria's Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik put it: "The best way to awaken affections for Europe is to discover the emotional and cultural diversity for yourself."

Some of the contributions were predictable, from France madeleines, from Cyprus baklava, from Denmark Danish pastry.

Lithuania's bakers were conjuring up something resembling a hedgehog, called Sakotis, while Malta's were crafting a deep-fried date sandwich made from a dough containing red wine, Imqaret.