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Yellow Paper on EU Communication 

Executive summary

YELLOW PAPER ON EU COMMUNICATION: 'Decentralise radically: Empower the multipliers!'

Principles of EurActiv’s Plan D: Diversify, Decentralise, Disseminate, Decide

Explanations of the recommendations: issues / recommendation / context & example

ON THE TARGETS OF EU COMMUNICATION: Diversify

1. Choose realistic audiences and relays: not ‘every citizen’, also not ‘just the EU specialists’, but intermediates: national sectoral audiences

2. Involve - early on - companies and unions as well as NGOs

3. Coordinate lightly between institutions and DGs rather than centralize / ‘streamline’

ON THE METHODS AND CHANNELS: Decentralise and Disseminate

4. Decentralise radically: ‘nationalise’ EU debates, empower representations and enrich careers

5. Include communication in all EU programmes and policies

6. Train officials, journalists… and politicians!

7. Complement with roles for independent moderators, debate supporters and opinion scouts

8. Provide localised multilingual internet content, not just conferences, print and TV

9. Optimise and increase communication resources

ON THE IMPLEMENTATION AND TIMELINE: Decide!

10. Decentralise the debate right way, in addition to Brussels inter-institutional negotiations

11. Implement recent Commission decisions promptly, including July 2005 Action Plan

12. Achieve impact well before 2009 election

Related Links

• Summary: Yellow Paper on EU Communication(8 pages) 
• Full copy of EurActiv Yellow Paper including recommendations
• Can EU Hear Me Executive Summary and letter to M. Wallstom
• Interview with Christophe Leclercq
• Commission White paper website 

Reactions or questions

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