4 European Communication Policy
| (27265)
5992/06
COM(06) 35
| White Paper on European Communication Policy
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| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 1 February 2006
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| Deposited in Parliament | 7 February 2006
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 9 March 2006
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | To be decided
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested. Relevant to the debate recommended on the Commission Communication: "Plan-D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate".
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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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