EU Communication and the media: allies or enemies?[fr][de] 

When Vice-President Wallström presented her White Paper in February 2006, there was an outcry from Brussels correspondents because a leaked draft had included the idea that the EU should set up its own press agency by upgrading the existing service 'Europe By Satellite'.  Although Mrs Wallström has, on several occasions, publicly stated that there are no plans for an EU press agency as such, certain media remain doubtful because in other debates in Brussels (such as during a recent conference organised by the Economic and Social Committee), the idea has resurfaced.

So, what is actually written about the media in the present White Paper?

First of all, the Commission regrets that "media coverage of European issues remains limited and fragmented". Secondly, new 'interactive media' have "increased the accessibility of information" but "it will still take a lot of work to fully exploit information technology's potential to close the information gap".

The White Paper proposes several concrete actions to improve European news take-up by the media:

• Giving Europe a 'human face';
• putting EU news in a national, regional and local context;
• exploiting the potential of new technologies;
• encouraging public bodies at European, national and regional level to supply the media with high-quality news and current affairs material;
• giving EU institutions better communication tools and capacities, eg by upgrading 'Europe By Satellite' "with a focus on producing high quality audiovisual content which is user-friendly and relevant to the citizens...";
• establishing a "European Programme for Training in Public Communication", and;
• exploring "with a wide range of media players how to better provide the media ... with material which is relevant to them, with a view of adapting the information to the needs of different countries and segments of the population".

The Helsinki conference will address these issues as Commission officials face representatives of European, national, regional and local media. The questions posed in the invitation for the conference give an indication of the main topics that will be up for debate:

• How can we ensure that European citizens get the coverage they want and need?
• How can audiovisual media take a greater role in the European public sphere?
• Is there a need for a pan-European TV channel?
• What does cross-cultural boradcasting mean?
• Could the interactive media and citizen's journalism (note from the editor: blogs and wikis) change the information market and  the debate on Europe?

Responding to the Commission's White Paper, Fondation EurActiv consulted over the last six months with its advisory council and the media's network and produced its own Yellow Paper on EU Communication. The main message of EurActiv's Yellow Paper is that the EU should radically decentralise its communication strategy  empowering national sectoral multipliers such as companies, trade unions, NGOs, media and other stakeholders that will bring EU debates closer to the everyday life of citizens. 

EurActiv regrets that the role of the new media, and their editorial value added, is not fully exploited in the Commission's White Paper. Because the Commission wants to reach the broad public (and not the sectoral mediators), it focuses most of its recommendations on improving the relationshîp with TV media. In fact, internet is the primary source of information for other media, especially for the majority of national and regional print and audiovisual services without Brussels representation.

In a commentary on the White Paper, the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed its concerns about the proposed "upgrading of Europe By Satellite" and the plans to "provide material" to the national and subregional level. "We are concerned that too much of the Commission’s thinking is around strategies to get media to tell a “good news” story about the European Union. Much of the philosophy appears to be based on the idea that if journalists won’t tell the story as the Commission want it told, they will do it themselves", says the IFJ.

The European Broadcasters Union (EBU) expressed similar concerns in their contribution to the debate. "The EBU considers that the European institutions should avoid supplying pre-edited pictures and ready-made reportage. The cutting and editing of news and current affairs items is the responsibility of the media. In a healthy democracy, the separation of roles must be respected."