Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-12-Speech-4-046"
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"en.20050512.4.4-046"2
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I am very pleased to address today, in this House, the vital topic of communicating Europe to our citizens. Mr Herrero-Tejedor has done an excellent job in tabling a report that poses the right questions and suggests important answers.
The third concerns connecting with and responding to citizens. That involves adapting messages and matching national and local concerns – instead of taking a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach – and conveying them as close to the citizen as possible. As proposed by Mr Herrero-Tejedor, that means using contemporary tools, giving priority to those which are more likely to reach the greatest number of citizens, such as television, radio and the internet; using a language that people understand and a more decentralised implementation; using our representations in the Member States as well as our relays and networks in close cooperation with Parliament and the Member States.
Our fourth focus is on adapting the means to the objectives. I believe we can all agree that communication is a human-resource- and budget-intensive activity. We will, therefore, need to allocate financial and human resources in a manner corresponding to our goals. Communication will have to be considered as an in-built cost in all activities. All of that will be based on a qualitative and quantitative assessment of communication activities within the institutions.
Last but not least, the fifth point is that we need to work together. We need to work with the Member States and with other actors. A progressive approach, leading to the possibility of forming an over-arching European Union approach to communication based on real coordination and synergies between the institutions, should be established. However, we cannot forget other key actors, such as national and regional governments and parliaments, civil society and the media, focusing particularly on the regional and local media in the Member States.
The next step will be the White Paper and the results of the broad consultation process we will launch, which will, hopefully, lead to more consistent and efficient communication with Europeans, which is our common responsibility.
I welcome the rapporteur’s suggestion that this plenary should have a debate on communication at least once a year. The support of Europeans for the European project hinges on our communication efforts. We have all known for years – and the ongoing public debates on the ratification of our Constitution show this clearly enough – that despite our common efforts to communicate, Europe’s citizens still say that do not know enough about, or are not interested in, the European Union, and do not understand its role and its benefits for them. Less than half voted in last year’s European elections. Apathy and ignorance are enemies of our democratic foundations.
As our latest Eurobarometer reveals, there is a clear correlation between the level of information and the support for the Constitutional Treaty; 75% of those who know the Constitution well declared they were in favour, while the support of those who have never heard about the Constitution is only 22%. The conclusion is evident: the need to communicate our projects is crucial for the future of the European Union.
Communicating Europe is a highly complex task because European construction is in itself complex; because the European project is an evolving project and because perceptions of the European project vary and are defined, to a large extent, by national history and circumstances. Moreover, we should never forget that no communication can be better than the policies it wants to communicate. More than ever before, the European Union needs to explain its aims and policies clearly and comprehensively.
That is why the Barroso Commission has made communication one of its strategic priorities. The foremost priority of the present Commission is connecting with citizens. However, I should like to add that this is not just the Commission’s responsibility. In fact, it is very much the responsibility of all players: Parliament, the Council and, above all, the Member States.
The Commission will therefore put forward a White Paper on communication. It will identify options and possible solutions to the challenges that have been outlined and will be the starting point of a long-term process of structural reform and change in communication culture, involving all actors concerned within and outside the Commission.
The new approach will follow three strategic principles, which are also taken into account in the draft of the Herrero-Tejedor report that you are debating today. The first involves listening to people and taking their interests and concerns into account; the second, explaining our policies and their impact on people’s daily lives; and the third, connecting with people by communicating more and as closely as possible on topics that are of real interest to citizens.
We have identified five main areas for action. The first is political commitment and ownership. Commissioners will engage as key communicators about all portfolios. They will also get involved in better planning and coordination of communication activities, which will concern all levels. The Commission will better integrate communication into our working culture and into policy formulation.
The second involves professionalising our communications. That includes providing an effective and service-minded spokesperson service, improving research through polling and surveying and evaluating the impact of our communication activities. We must make better use of our tools and provide more and better training."@en1
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