Les espoirs de Margot Wallström

Christophe Leclercq et Kristina Weich Hondrila de EURACTIV.com évoquent dans cet article paru dans Politik und Kommunikation  les difficultés de l’UE en termes de communication. 

The failed referenda on the EU Constitution in France and the Netherlands made it clear, that the work of the convention had not been well communicated to the public.

As a result the Commission presented in July 2005 an action plan to improve the communication skills of EU officials as well as the co-ordination of public relations.  Two months later, Plan D was presented with the aim of bringing the EU closer to the citizens in the member states.

The new measures taken by commissioner Wallström hardly deliver anything new and had no effect in the past.  But the key problem remains:  the request for more communication has to be addressed to those people in the member states who are in any case responsible for communicating EU policies to its citizens.  These are parliaments, parties, politicians, media, educational institutions, NGOs etc..

At the end of 2005 the Commission intends to present a White Paper on the information and communication policy of the EU, whose impact will be felt before 2008 – just before the European elections in 2009.

A complete version of this article (in German) can be downloaded here.

For more information see EURACTIV sections Public Affairs  and Opinion & Governance.