Brussels, 20/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - Listen more, communicate better, step up targeted actions at local level- these are the three key strands of the new communication approach that the European Commission has decided to follow, in order to improve its explanations of the various policies it carries out to the citizens and to help the European Union to touch base with public opinion. "Listening to the citizens better also means that we must take their opinions on board", Commission Vice President Margot Wallström explained to the press. Improving communication "means that we must better explain how the policies of the EU have an influence on the everyday life of the citizens and what their added value is". As for targeting the citizens better at local level, "we must adapt the messages we send out to the public in each Member State and to send them via channels the audiences prefer in a language they understand, not in Eurocrat language", said Ms Wallström.
This new approach will be implemented in two stages. In the initial phase, this will be done via the implementation of an action plan which was adopted on Wednesday (and to which we will return in greater detail). It provides for the implementation of some 50 concrete actions aiming to make better use of resources already in existence and to improve the capacities for communication and information within the Commission. The action plan makes the following provisions, amongst others: -better coordination of the various communication activities within the Commission, in order to get the most out of efforts made and make the best possible use of existing communication tools; -to make better use of the communication tools the public prefers in the languages it understands, particularly the Internet and audiovisual services; -to professionalise communication by providing specific training for European civil servants and by recruiting communications specialists using specific recruitment competitions; -creating summaries to accompany the main proposals of the Commission, describing, in comprehensible language, the tangible benefits of these proposals for the citizens; -to reinforce the representative presence of the Commission in the Member States to keep the citizens informed of policies and initiatives which may be of interest and/or concern to them, in the language they understand. "The action plan is a highly concrete and pragmatic reflection of the political priority of engaging the citizens in dialogue the length and breadth of the European Union. Today, we have taken a decision on a working method which will provide us with a modern approach to communication in all of the services of the European Commission. This is indispensable if we really feel it is necessary to reinforce dialogue, consultation and debate on the role of the Union. However, this task will naturally go beyond the mandate of the Commission; in order to ensure that it is fully carried out, we will have to establish a partnership with all the other main protagonists of European policy within the EU", said Ms Wallström. The action plan also provides for the creation of 50 new jobs in the Commission, mainly within the representations of the Commission in the Member States, in order to reinforce its communication capacities.
In the second phase of the action plan, the Commission plans to present a White Paper in autumn this year, in which it is to propose a more global political vision of communication and initiatives to be carried out in the medium and long terms, together with the other institutions and players. This White Paper will also tackle the role that the governments of the Member States will have to play in keeping the citizens informed. "The Member States will have the lion's share of the work to do" in this field, stressed Ms Wallström.