Brussels, 13/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - With the European elections beginning to loom on the horizon, the European Commission has just decided to launch the second generation of the Europe-wide network of Europe Direct information centres for 2009-2012.
Europe Direct information centres, to be found in all member states, are one of the ways the European Commission can reach the general pubic at local level. The Europe Direct information network was first launched in 2005. The general public will be able to turn to one of the 500 information centres to get their specific questions on EU matters answered. The Europe Direct centres will also provide feedback from citizens to the EU institutions, and actively promote local and regional debate on EU topics. They will receive an annual grant of up to €25,000 from the European Commission for their EU information activities and will have to provide at least 50% co-financing. (O.L./transl.rt)