Politicians increasingly using social networks to communicate. According to a study by the Robert Schuman Foundation, social networks are fast becoming essential forms of communication between European leaders and citizens. More than just ways to keep in touch, they have become genuine platforms for exchange of views and mobilisation from which the European Union cannot afford to be absent.

. Boom in social networking. In 2010, Facebook overtook Google to become the site which receives the most hits worldwide. This development marked the start of the success of social networks. Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006), LinkedIn (2003), Viadeo (2004), Skype (2003) and MSN (1999) are now an integral part of our social life. According to the latest annual report, the comScore Europe Digital Year in Review 2010, by the research institute comScore devoted to European digital use, social networks, after on-line searches, are most widespread in Europe with a user rate of 84.4%. Poland, the UK and Finland lead the European countries in social network use with scores of 90.6%, 87.9% and 86.5% respectively. If Turkey were a member state, it would top the list with its 92.2% user rate. At the opposite end of the table is Austria with a 74.5% penetration level, preceded by Switzerland (75.2%), Germany (79.4%) and France (80.6%). Facebook is at the heart of the community site boom, number one in 15 of the 18 markets studied by comScore. “With 230 million single visits Facebook is the third most popular site in Europe and is far ahead of any other media tool used by consumers”, says comScore in its report. Leader in the UK, Finland and Norway, Facebook faces strong local competitors in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany where the market share of the American network is below 60%. European internet users stay longer on Facebook than on Google. In Europe last year, social networks became the sites where people spent most time (11.7%), ahead of all of the Google sites, search, news, blogs, etc (10.4%) and Microsoft (10%), according to comScore. A recent Eurostat study found that, in the EU, 80% of young internet users use social networks. The internet has become the mass media for the younger generations and social networks are common practice. - European institutions make use of social networks. As an institution, the European Parliament, on 26 May 2011, had 158,770 fans on its Facebook page and 14,000 followers on Twitter. MEPs using social networks number 69%. Together they have 900,000 fans on Facebook and 215,000 followers on Twitter. It is difficult to divide the MEPs who use social networks into categories: young MEPs seem to like using tweets and Facebook, but older ones also make use of these media. In practice, Facebook has taken over MEPs blogs. Indeed, the leading social network provides a higher profile to reach out to more European citizens and it facilitates exchange. It is interesting to note, too, that 66% of those who work with MEPs advise their representatives to use the social media. Twitter is only used by one third of MEPs; most find it hard to see the use of the instant micro-blogging platform. Twitter, it would seem, is oriented more towards EU professionals than towards citizens. At the beginning of May 2011, 44% of European commissioners were on Twitter, either with a personal account or via their spokespersons. With a total of 40,080 followers for 3,221 tweets the 12 European commissioners (and the commission's official account) are the most followed people in the European institutions (largely thanks to those who follow Neelie Kroes). However they are much more discreet on Facebook: only one third use this network. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy boasts 14,448 Twitter followers. He communicated directly with journalists via Twitter during the European summit of 16 December 2010, shattering the secretive nature of the European Councils which always take place behind closed doors. (I.L./transl.rt)