EU Constitution: Irish politicians peddling falsehoods about the European constitution are likely to find themselves brought to book within hours by a team of avenging MEPs.
A group of eight MEPs have set up what might be described as a rapid retraction force whose aim will be to put the record straight if lies are told, in word or print, about the constitution when it is debated in member-states.
"Within three hours, or at least within the same day, we want to react to lies and distortions about the constitution", said Mr Jo Leinen, a German Socialist MEP.
He said MEPs are fighting back in the debate about the constitution because no one else is doing it.
"Who is defending the constitution? No European government is doing it", says Mr Leinen, who will be helped in his watchdog role by, among others, the president of the European Parliament, Mr Josep Borell.
The European Parliament's office in Dublin is to monitor the debate and pass on information it considers needs correcting.
One example, says Mr Leinen, would be the debate leading up to the Nice Treaty vote where the issue became entangled with another debate on abortion.
Labour MEP Mr Proinsias De Rossa, a member of the body that drew up the EU constitution, said he found the idea of a myth-exposing team "good" and said "it would probably have helped" in the run-up to the Nice Treaty, which was rejected by Irish voters in 2001 before being accepted the following year.
Other claims to be targeted by MEPs are that the constitution, which can only come into force after all 25 member-states have ratified it, will lead to a European superstate or a military union.
However, the move does raise questions about the extent to which constitution opponents may be "corrected" for giving an opinion on the document.
Mr Leinen admits that there is sometimes a thin line between opinion and a lie and that things will have to be dealt with "on a case-by-case basis".
This is not the first instance of the EU hitting back at incorrect reporting in the press. The European Commission has a website containing a detailed rebuttal of stories that it says are untrue.
These include stories, mainly from the British press, about such diverse things as corgi dogs being banned, the metal used on euro coins being responsible for impotency and eggs having to carry details of the hens that laid them.