"My simple message is the same as it has been for the last five years: we have to listen better, explain better and go local," said outgoing European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström, responsible for EU communications policy during José Manuel Barroso’s first term at the EU executive's helm.
"We need to get real," the Swede declared. "The channels people use are local radio, TV and websites" and "this is where we need to put the resources".
Communicating directly to the local level takes on added importance given that "there is very little interest in such decentralisation among Brussels journalists, because they are news journalists," she added.
Offering a German perspective, European Parliament Vice-President Silvana Koch-Mehrin said "most of the places in Germany are close to Brussels" geographically, but "perception-wise they are much closer to Berlin".
"This needs to change," the German liberal MEP declared. Expressing the view that "the division between EU, foreign affairs and national news is disappearing," Koch-Mehrin said "we need to make clear that what's done in Brussels matters at home".
Echoing this view, European Parliament Vice-President Isabelle Durant, a former Belgian deputy prime minister (Greens), said "my house is 1km from here, but everyone tells me that now I'm in Europe, I'm gone".
Changing citizens' perceptions 'big problem'
Admitting that changing this perception among citizens is "a big problem," the Green MEP said the key lies in stressing that "European problems are not European as such, but ones that should be discussed at regional and local level".
Durant highlighted the milk crisis as an example of the link between problems facing local producers and action taken at EU level. "With a real problem, you can stimulate a very good local discussion about a European question," she said.
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe leader Guy Verhofstadt sounded a warning note, however. "I totally agree with the idea of debating EU issues at national level, but in a positive way," he said, lamenting that "every day politicians use Europe at national level, but they do so negatively".
"The day Europeans pay their own money into the EU budget will be the day they take an automatic interest in EU affairs," claimed Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister, insisting that giving the EU budgetary resources of its own would be "the best way to put Europe into national hearts and minds".
Emotion 'forgotten' in Brussels
Koch-Mehrin, meanwhile, stressed the importance of the "emotional aspect" to a message, which she said is "often forgotten in Brussels".
In this year's European elections, her Free Democratic Party increased its score by 80%, a result Koch-Mehrin put down to a willingness to do "things that could be regarded as silly to connect with emotions," like writing a column for a women's magazine about working in a male-dominated environment or appearing on children's TV.
"This created the initial interest, and then we could introduce the EU element," she said.
Yesterday's event also saw the presentation of the 'EurActiv Awards for Debating Europe Nationally' (EurActiv 13/11/09).
