New campaign seeks end to ‘impenetrable’ Euro-speak

Using simpler language would vastly improve the EU’s communication, according to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, which launched an online campaign to make the EU institutions more accessible to citizens last week (15 September).

The ‘Simple Language‘ campaign, organised by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the Committee of the Regions (ALDE-CoR), provides a web forum for individuals to “freely post examples of complex sentences or jargon that they have encountered in EU documents,” inviting contributors to suggest “a citizen-friendly alternative”. 

It targets “all who work for and with the European Union, in Brussels and beyond, with the objective of encouraging the use of simple and clear language in all EU documents, official or not”. 

Boosting citizens’ involvement in EU debates is seen as crucial to boosting turnout in next year’s elections to the European Parliament. The ‘Communicating Europe in Partnership‘ initiative, launched by Commission Vice President responsible for communication Margot Wallström in October 2007, identified the Internet as a key means of achieving this. 

Describing the thinking behind the initiative, ALDE-CoR Group President Flo Clucas, who is also the deputy leader of Liverpool City Council, said “we have seen time and time again that the EU struggles to make itself understood”. “We don’t help ourselves or our citizens if we express ourselves in obscure language,” she added. 

Clucas explained that “citizens find the language which emanates from Brussels impenetrable, but so too do many […] officials in national, regional and local authorities”. “There is an urgent need to change this and that is why we are launching this campaign”. 

As an example, the website suggests using phrases such as “discussion between cities and regions” instead of terms like “territorial dialogue”. Although it is currently only available in English, the homepage promises that other languages will be made available soon. 

To coincide with the launch of the campaign, ALDE-CoR is flying a banner from a footbridge over the busy Rue Belliard in the heart of Brussels’s EU quarter from 14-28 September, carrying the message: “What language should the EU speak?” 

A number of other websites also seek to bring Brussels affairs closer to citizens. The ‘Road to Copenhagen 2009‘ initiative launched last year provides a forum for debate on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol (EURACTIV 20/11/07), while in January, the European Policy Centre unveiled an innovative online forum to narrow the “yawning gulf” between the concerns of young professionals and those of the EU institutions (EURACTIV 27/02/08). 

Moreover, Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva is known for hosting online chats with Europeans to discuss various issues, including toy safety ahead of the 2007 Christmas period, for example (EURACTIV 05/12/07). 

Read more with Euractiv

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