Speaking at the annual Paul Henri Spaak lecture organised by the Association of European Journalists (AEJ), Commission Vice President for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy Margot Wallström stressed the continued relevance of the EU executive's so-called 'Plan D' on communication, launched after the French and Dutch rejection of the Constitution in 2005 (see EurActiv Links Dossier). A key necessity is to push ahead with the strategy for governments to "listen, explain, go local" and prioritise certain topics for communication, she added.
Asked by EurActiv if she is planning to launch any new initiatives similar to the Plan D, or if she will try to use the current crisis to overcome internal resistances to a modernisation of EU communication strategies, Wallström answered: "Yes, I will use the little crisis atmosphere we have to the full. Of course, this gives us another push, we will use the current momentum."
The Commission Vice President also stressed the role of new technologies. “In France, people suddenly realised the importance of the internet during the [French 2005] referendum. I'll keep talking about using the internet more, but traditional leaders are used to traditional channels."
She nevertheless also set limits to what communication can achieve in the short term: "We can't get a quick fix. We have to invest in the long term. We need to consider new methods, like citizen consultations, and the creation of media networks. We need to have real debates, to be open for controversy."
In a separate interview, Spanish MEP Alejo Vidal-Quadras, the vice president of the European Parliament (EPP-ED), who also chairs Parliament's working group on communication, told EurActiv that Europe is faced with "an endless communication problem". He blamed the Irish government for the poor campaign, highlighting its "incompetence".
Vidal-Quadras considers that member states bear the major part of the responsibility for communicating the EU project to citizens. According to him, the European institutions – the Commission, the Parliament – have only very modest means in terms of human resources and budget compared to member states but nevertheless do a lot.
"In the European Parliament we are putting in place a new parliamentary web TV [channel], we have already launched the prototype, it has been internally broadcasted for MEPs and officials, and now we are preparing the final launch for the general public. I think we will be ready by the end of the year and it will be fully operational for the European elections," said Vidal-Quadras.
The European Parliament Vice President also attached a great deal of importance to MyParl – a project creating a web space where European parliamentarians and national parliamentarians can interact, exchange views and debate. "I think (MyParl) is a promising project. Anything that can contribute to creating new spaces of interaction between the national level and the European level, to make people aware of the importance of European integration project, on the influence of the European institutions work on their lives, all this is essential," the Spanish MEP said.
To read the interview with Alejo Vidal-Quadras in full, please click here.
