Strasbourg, 02/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday the European Commission adopted its information and communication strategy, that Commissioner Vitorino will be presenting Wednesday afternoon to the European Parliament. Spokesman Jonathan Faull has indicated that this strategy is necessary as many citizens are left in the dark and want to be better informed. This effort will not require any additional loans (the EUR 267 million already earmarked by the budget for future years) but which will involve the entire political class in focusing on certain major priority themes: enlargement, the future of Europe, justice and home affairs, Europe's role n the world. The document is quite detailed in indicating how the different players (Commission, Parliamentarians, Ministers, Heads of State and Government) will be able to participate in this project, which is not, as Mr Faull insisted, a propaganda exercise but a way of helping citizens understand what happens in the Union and therefore, better participate in the debate on its future.
The Commission also adopted its hefty (130 pages) annual report on the fight against fraud, which does not contain detailed results on OLAF investigations and which Anna Diamantopoulou will be presenting to Parliament on Wednesday.