Monday

20th Mar 2023

Brussels struggles with communication policy

  • Brussels is still unsure how to get its message across to ordinary people (Photo: European Commission)

Despite years of trying, Brussels is no closer to working out how to effectively communicate with EU citizens and bridge a gap that sees low voter turnout for the European elections and a largely disaffected public.

Luis Herrero-Tejedor, a Spanish conservative MEP who deals with the bloc's communication policy in the culture committee, said he has heard the same arguments and the same proposals for the past nine years.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"Absolutely nothing has changed," he said after listening to a special hearing on the ‘effectiveness of the EU's communication policy' in the European Parliament on Tuesday (8 May).

Outside experts from PR firms addressed the hearing to try and inject some professionalism into the debate and take away the navel-gazing aspect of the discussion.

Speaking in the jargon of the marketing professionals, they said that Brussels must define "exact target groups" and "tailor" its message to its audience.

Nicole Hebert from Associé said it is time to stop thinking of the European citizen as a homogenous body but rather as "multi-faceted individuals."

Too much marketing

EU communications commissioner Margot Wallstrom rejected their overtly marketing-based approach as being too facile.

"This is different from advertising or selling socks," she said noting that "it presents the ultimate challenge" as the commission struggles to disseminate accurate information in the 23 official languages on issues ranging from the number of cod in the Baltic sea, to aid in Africa through to explaining what the different institutions do.

She was backed up by Alejo Vidal-Quadras, responsible for the parliament's communication's policy, who said "we sell values" and that "we want to create European citizens."

While it has long been acknowledged that citizens feel removed from Brussels, communications issues only made it on the commission's top agenda in the wake of the political upheaval following the rejection of the constitution in two founding EU member states two years ago.

But still Ms Wallstrom, the first ever communications commissioner, says there is not enough money for her to do her job properly.

"We can talk about this until we are blue in the face [but] we need more resources," she said with a small €86.5 million put aside for communication purposes last year.

She asked MEPs, who are in charge of the bloc's purse strings, whether they really knew how many people and how much effort it took to get something up on the commission's website within a certain period of time and in all languages.

Aside from the money aspect, she believes the EU has to get more political and be controversial.

A dose of controversy

Controversy and diversity have "such a vital role to play," said the commissioner, who recently stirred the Brussels pot by openly supporting French presidential candidate Segolene Royal in her blog.

She also said that the communications policy needs a programme with "political ownership" with member states and the commission not always singing from the same hymn sheet on promoting Brussels.

Taking an example the commissioner pointed out that EU information offices were only last year opened in the UK while in some member states "you can go through school without learning anything about the European Union."

The commission itself is to publish proposals on how to communicate the EU better before the summer. The paper is expected to contain ideas on education, what the commission can do with its own audio-visual set-up as well as how to strengthen links with national parliaments.

The proposals will come just a short two years before the next European elections with MEPs anxious to avoid a repetition of 2004 which saw record low turnouts, particularly in the brand new member states to the east.

'Symbolic' Putin indictment gets some EU backing

Several EU foreign ministers welcomed the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin, but it is unlikely to influence negotiations about a special tribunal on the crime of agression.

'Final warning' to act on climate change, warns IPCC

The United Nations's report — synthesising years of climate, biodiversity, and nature research — paints a picture of the effects of global warming on the natural world, concluding there is "no time for inaction and delays."

'No one is unemployable': the French social experiment

More than five million people in the EU have been unemployed for more than a year. Lack of skills or education is not always the reason or the solution they need, says a proposal for an EU Job Guarantee.

Opinion

Why can't we stop marches glorifying Nazism on EU streets?

Every year, neo-Nazis come together to pay tribute to Nazi war criminals and their collaborators, from Benito Mussolini to Rudolf Hess, Ante Pavelić, Hristo Lukov, and of course Adolf Hitler, in events that have become rituals on the extreme-right calendar.

'No one is unemployable': the French social experiment

More than five million people in the EU have been unemployed for more than a year. Lack of skills or education is not always the reason or the solution they need, says a proposal for an EU Job Guarantee.

Latest News

  1. 'Symbolic' Putin indictment gets some EU backing
  2. 'Final warning' to act on climate change, warns IPCC
  3. 'No one is unemployable': the French social experiment
  4. Why can't we stop marches glorifying Nazism on EU streets?
  5. Op-ed debate: Should NGOs be subject to stricter transparency regulation?
  6. 'Forever chemicals' industry hit by perfect storm
  7. EU summit zooms in on global roles This WEEK
  8. EU launches 'Hydrogen Bank' — but what is it?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  5. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023
  6. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us