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The Commission will finally present its White Paper on Communication Policy on 1 February. The paper intends to start a broad consultation on how to reconnect citizens to the EU project. EurActiv will have a full-week focus on the new communication strategy.
Falling participation in European elections and several Eurobarometers and national surveys have made it very clear that the European Union has a growing problem connecting with its citizens. The European project, which was historically driven by political and business elites, is losing support and trust in the eyes of the general public.
To tackle this "democratic deficit", the Barroso Commission appointed a special Vice-President for Communication Strategy when it started in October 2005. Former environment commissioner Margot Wallström was entrusted with the difficult task of analysing this deficit and providing solutions to "bridge the gap".
Mrs Wallström started her mission by underlining the need for the EU to listen, "to put ears on the commission" as she eloquently called it. She consulted with many internal (institutional) as well as external stakeholders and this resulted in July 2005 in a 50-point action plan to modernise the Commission's own internal communication culture (see EurActiv 22 July 2005).
In the meantime, the feeling of a crisis of legitimacy had been exacerbated in the early summer of 2005 by the 'No' votes in the EU Constitution referenda in France and the Netherlands. EU leaders decided to call for a period of reflection and Mrs Wallström launched the idea of a Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate to stimulate broader debate between the EU institutions and the citizens (see EurActiv 22 September 2005).
Finally, fifteen months after she received her mandate, commissioner Wallström will present the "plat de résistance" of her communication menu in the form of a White Paper setting out a "European agenda for communication and democracy".
LinksDossier: EU Communication Policy
The White Paper (of which EurActiv has seen several versions and which is still undergoing internal debate) aims to set out a more coherent vision for communication policy than several older communication papers have done. It identifies several key areas for further action and tries to move away from the Brussels-centric approach that characterised other information strategies. The paper argues the case for a 'European Public Sphere'.
Based on the principles of inclusion (all citizens should have equal access to information on the EU), diversity (all actors should have a voice) and participation (all voices should be heard), it will propose a European Charter or Code of Conduct on Information and Communication.
The White Paper foresees an important role for the other EU institutions, member states, local and regional governments and national political parties. The paper will also present several actions to "empower citizens" and make them more active in influencing EU policies. The civil society and media dimensions have been stressed.
The Commission has understood the need to explore new ways of working with old and new media and technologies, although it might be questioned if the idea of establishing an 'independent' EU news agency is necessarily the right way to go. Finally, the White Paper also presents some actions to improve understanding of European public opinion in addition to Eurobarometer, flash surveys, focus groups or ctizens' panels).
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