Select Committee on European Scrutiny Twenty-Second Report


4 European Communication Policy

(27265)

5992/06

COM(06) 35

White Paper on European Communication Policy

Legal base
Document originated1 February 2006
Deposited in Parliament7 February 2006
DepartmentForeign and Commonwealth Office
Basis of considerationEM of 9 March 2006
Previous Committee ReportNone
To be discussed in CouncilTo be decided
Committee's assessmentPolitically important
Committee's decisionNot cleared; further information requested. Relevant to the debate recommended on the Commission Communication: "Plan-D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate".

Background

4.1 In its introduction, the Commission says that the gap between the European Union and its citizens is widely recognised. Many of those interviewed in recent "Eurobarometer" surveys say they know little about the EU and feel they have little say in its decision-making. Communication is essential to a healthy democracy; a two-way street that can never be divorced from what is being communicated. "Citizens expect Europe to offer them prosperity, solidarity and security in the face of globalisation. It is therefore essential to any communication policy that the EU should deliver an effective policy programme. But delivery by itself is not enough".

4.2 So last year the Commission set out an Action Plan "with a detailed list of specific measures it will take to improve the way it communicates with citizens" (e.g., reinforcing the Commission representation offices, better internal co-ordination and planning, work on language and presentation, more access points for citizens). This was followed by "Plan-D for democracy, dialogue and debate", which is "intended to involve citizens in a wide-ranging discussion on the European Union — what it is for, where it is going and what it should be doing".[21] But these initiatives, the Commission says, will only succeed if many more forces are brought into play: "a partnership approach is essential. Success will depend on the involvement of all the key players — the other EU institutions and bodies; the national, regional and local authorities in the Member States; European political parties; civil society".

The White Paper

4.3 . The main purpose therefore is "to propose a way forward and to invite all these players to contribute their ideas on how best we can work together to close the gap" and is aimed at producing "a forward-looking agenda for better communication to enhance the public debate in Europe".

4.4 Part I — "Putting Communication At The Service of Citizens" — is the Commission's "vision of what an EU Communication Policy should be". It proposes "a fundamentally new approach — a decisive move away from one-way communication to reinforced dialogue, from an institution-centred to a citizen-centred communication, from a Brussels-based to a more decentralised approach", based on "genuine dialogue between the people and the policymakers and lively political discussion among citizens themselves", with those people having "the right to fair and full information about the European Union, and …. confident that the views and concerns they express are heard by the EU institutions".

4.5 The Commission seeks to argue that the key missing element is a "European public sphere" where the European debate can unfold. Despite electing members of the European Parliament, citizens are said often to feel that they themselves have little opportunity to make their voices heard on European issues, with no obvious forum within which they can discuss these issues together. Europe also needs to find its place in the existing national, regional and local "public spheres" and public discussion across Member States must be deepened. This is "first and foremost the responsibility of government, at national, regional and local level, to consult and inform citizens about public policy — including European policies and their impact on people's daily lives — and to put in place the forums to give this debate life". There is said to be "a real interest in building the European dimension into the national debate", with citizens said to "sense that there is something missing from a national debate which ignores aspects of public policy that are of direct relevance to them". That is why, the Commission argues, national public authorities, civil society, and EU Union institutions "need to work together to develop Europe's place in the public sphere".

4.6 Part II — "Taking The Way Forward" — outlines five main areas for this combined action:

  • Defining common principles: The Commission will launch a special "a special web-based citizens' forum" for six months, to seek views on the desirability, purpose and content of such a framework document, and backed up by meetings with stakeholders. Member States will be invited to promote national discussions and consultations. At the end of the consultation period, the Commission will present the results and consider whether to propose a Charter, a Code of Conduct or another instrument.
  • How to reach out to the citizen: Developing tools and facilities (e.g., digitally interconnected European libraries, "virtual meeting places") for improving public access to information about, and increasing public consultation on matters related to, the EU;
  • How to involve the media more effectively in communicating on Europe: encouraging public bodies at European, national and regional level to work more closely particularly with regional and local broadcasters and media operators. Two ideas put forward are to upgrade Europe By Satellite, with a focus on producing high quality user-friendly audiovisual content, and a European Programme for training officials in Public Communication;
  • What more can be done to gauge European opinion? EU institutions working more closely on designing and planning Eurobarometer surveys and on disseminating the results, beginning with a special series of Eurobarometer polls and qualitative studies on EU Communication in spring 2006. Possible ideas put forward are: a new network of national experts in public opinion research and EU institutions and the Member States to pool available resources and set up an independent Observatory for European Public Opinion;
  • How will the partnership work?:
  • New initiatives at national level: e.g., public and parliamentary discussion on the Commission's annual strategic priorities, including face-to-face discussions between national ministers and European Commissioners, broadcast in the national media;
  • Co-operation among national authorities on communicating Europe in order to develop joint initiatives;
  • stronger co-operation in the field of external relations, including efforts to strengthen public diplomacy capacities;
  • broader co-operation between the Commission and the European Parliament;
  • the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions to strengthen regional and local discussion of European issues;
  • Political parties to contribute to the debate through trans-national European think tanks and to be encouraged to develop European components within their programmes; and
  • the role of Civil Society Organisations in the European debate to be strengthened through targeted co-operation projects in public communication.

4.7 Summing up, the Commission says "the European Union is a common project shared by all levels of government, all types of organisations and people from all walks of life. Citizens have a right to information about Europe and its concrete projects, a right to express their views about Europe and to be heard". The challenge is "to facilitate this exchange, the learning process, the dialogue", which means that all the actors involved need to have an agreed set of objectives and a shared 'toolbox' of measures they can take, and to work together in innovative ways. Having outlined the challenge and identified how it might be met, the Commission now seek the views of the European Institutions, Member States, local and regional governments, nongovernmental organisations, stakeholders and the citizens of Europe "on how best to connect and communicate".

The Government's view

4.8 In his March 2006 Explanatory Memorandum, the Minister of State for Europe in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Douglas Alexander) says that the Government welcomes the approach underlying the White Paper but believes that an EU communications policy must be formulated and implemented in co-operation with Member States, respecting national circumstances; that further discussion is needed on the detail and framework of the initiatives outlined; and will respond "in due course".

Conclusion

4.9 As with the Communication on "Plan-D", the Minister reiterates the necessity of something the Commission emphasises in its proposals regarding the primacy of Member States, but says nothing about any of the proposals. This is surprising, in that some are both interesting and uncontentious, e.g., the idea of broadcast discussions between Commissioners and Member State politicians and/or citizens of current or proposed Commission policies.

4.10 We have recommended elsewhere in this Report that the Communication on Plan-D be debated at an early debate in the European Standing Committee.[22] We consider this White Paper relevant to that debate, which will give the Government the opportunity that it should have taken in its Explanatory Memorandum to explain at least its initial views on the Commission's proposals on Communication Strategy.

4.11 Since those views may develop further in the months ahead, as discussions continue on the document, we ask the Minister to inform us at an appropriate time of his considered views. In the meantime, we shall keep the document under scrutiny.




21   And which we consider in paragraph 1 of this Report. Back

22   See paragraph 1 of this Report. Back


 
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Prepared 23 March 2006