Wallström takes on the ‘communication deficit’

Both the style and the scope of the EU’s
communication strategy need to be changed to reach
more citizens, said Commissioner designate Margot
Wallström at her hearing before the
Parliament.

To illustrate her point about how the EU needs
to reach the citizens with other means
than ‘eurospeak’ in glitzy brochures that
don’t get read, Commissioner designate for
Communication and Institutional Relations Margot
Wallström used a video as part of her
presentation at the hearing before the European
Parliament.   

The video’s last image was of a young woman
stating “je me sens pas assez touché
encore”. Wallström set out with charm
and energy to convince the Parliament that she intends to
change that feeling with a more
professional image-oriented communications strategy.
This would involve closer collaboration with both
the Parliament and the Commission’s
representations in the member states to get
“much closer to national realities”. 

She argued that further use of TV and radio should be
part of efforts to reach more citizens, and pledged to
work to get financial support for such initiatives, and
called for use of the education system to raise
awareness of the EU’s work.

The only real flashpoint during the hearing was over
Wallströms firm conviction that the Commission
should not be deeply involved in the upcoming
national campaigns to ensure ratification of the
constitution. To the protests of some MEPs she stuck
to her point that it would be
“counterproductive” if the Commission was seen
to be involved in “propaganda”. Rather, she
would prefer the Commisison to remain in a merely
supportive role, only giving general information and
correcting blatant misinformation.

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