Strasbourg, 20/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - Last week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the White Paper of the Commission on a European communications policy (see EUROPE 9121 and 9122), by initiative of Luis Herrero-Tejedor (EPP-ED, Spain). It takes the view that the "objective of the European communications policy should not be to create a sphere of communication to compete with the national public spheres, but instead considerably to align national debates on those carried out at the level of the European Union".
The MEPs support the Commission's attempt to change the way in which communication with the citizens is organised. Marking their agreement with the White Paper, which states that no communication can be dissociated from its content, they stress that objective, reliable, impartial and multilingual communication will help to improve understanding of the policies carried out, but not to compensate from their shortcomings. They stress the importance of "showing the relevance and the impact of the Union's decisions on everyday life" by dint of regular information on local and regional projects the EU has participated in.
The EP does not wish to be subject to a "code of conduct governing its communication", in echo of the Commission's proposal to draft a European Charter of Information and Communication. It states that the communication policies of each European institution must be integrated into a "common logic". It therefore calls on the Commission to present a "draft institutional agreement laying down the common principles which could govern cooperation between the European institutions".
The MEPs welcome the Commission's intention to include Europe at all levels, bringing "European issues to national, regional and local levels, in order to decentralise the message". They raised the possibility of developing a European proximity administration, emphasising the role to be played by all involved: national parliaments, (pan-European) political parties, the Member States, the regions and cities and the media. They point out that the EP is to hold the first citizens' Agora, a concertation body with representatives of civil society, in 2007. They stress the importance of inter-parliamentary forums on the future of Europe, one of which is due to meet on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.
On the subject of the consultation of players involved at an early stage of policy drafting, the EP takes the view that the principal legislative proposals could be accompanied by a section indicating how the concerns of the citizens are to be taken into account when the proposal is being drafted. It also condemns the reduction of financial aid granted to the Leonardo da Vinci, Socrates and Erasmus programmes.
The report welcomes the withdrawal of the proposal on the creation of a European press agency and voices doubt on the basis for a European public opinion monitoring centre, a measure which was raised in Madrid at a specific conference at the end of October (see EUROPE 9297). Lastly, it proposes the launch of the Eurobarometer survey measuring the level of information available to the European citizens, depending on their State of origin, their socio-professional category and their political orientation. (mb)