Mr President, Commissioner, I would like to warmly thank everyone present for taking part in this debate. The report presented for debate is intended to be the European Parliament’s response to the Commission’s Communication of 2 July 2002 on an information and communication strategy for the European Union. In order to briefly present the report I will point out that its main characteristic is that it makes information a condition of citizenship. My hope is that, in the future, following the recognition of the legal personality of the European Union, this citizens’ right will combine with the European Union’s right to express itself, in what we could call the European Union’s right to an image, the European Union’s right to explain what it is and what it does, and the combination of these two rights provides a firm legal basis on which to create a genuine information and communication policy. The report opts decisively for the consolidation of interinstitutionality in the three phases of the process, that is to say, in the production of messages within the Interinstitutional Information Group, in application, using for this purpose the representations of the Commission and the offices of the European Parliament, as well national, regional and local authorities and interinstitutionality, and also in the assessment both within the Interinstitutional Information Group and by means of an annual debate on the information and communication policy. With regard to the conditions for information, I will simply comment on the analysis of the languages in which information is provided and the accessible style of language. Languages should not just be the official languages, but also the co-official languages and all those languages by means of which the message can reach the citizens in the most direct manner, with the participation, of course, of local, regional, national and Community authorities, in accordance with the scope of their competences. With regard to the content, I will focus on just two points. On the one hand, the content should indicate the European Union's influence on the daily actions of the citizens, rejecting the European Union’s frequent image as an arena for confrontation, with opposing interests on the part of the different Member States. On the other hand, we should consolidate a permanent flow of basic information for the citizen. It will be difficult for the citizens to become involved in the priorities which I am about to mention if they are not conversant with the fundamental and basic operation of the European Union. With regard to the current priorities, those already included in the Prince programme are taken up, that is to say, enlargement, the future of Europe, the area of freedom, security and justice, the establishment of the euro and the role of the European Union in the world. And attention is drawn to the imminence of the 2004 elections, which are of symbolic significance because this will be the first time that 25 countries will elect their direct representatives to this House. The analysis of the report raises certain critical questions. On the one hand, the question of the legal basis. The time has not yet come to create a legal basis for the drawing up of the programmes, but the Convention and the future Intergovernmental Conference provide the opportunity to support the idea that the future Constitution should include – within the democratic life of the European Union – a reference to the citizens’ right to information, so that they may be genuine citizens. Secondly, I will refer to the issue of sectoral information, which – I am perfectly aware – as the representatives of the Commission have tried to demonstrate, is the exclusive responsibility of the Commission. The truth is, however, that the European Union's image is either promoted or harmed directly as a result of the actions resulting from the various sectoral policies. Coordination of the various sectoral policies, orienting sectoral policies towards a common objective – the development of the European Union – should be subject not to decision, of course, but at least to consideration, within the interinstitutional information body. Thirdly, there is the issue of whether it is better to provide systemised, basic, pedagogical information, or whether we need the impact of spectacular campaigns which demand the attention of the citizen and for the fundamental elements to be expressed through them. Finally, the national authorities act as a filter. The citizens perceive Europe by means of their national authorities, for whom a success is something they have won from the rest of the Europeans and for whom harm is anything that they perceive as negative. Partnership and integration amongst the Member States and the regional and local authorities is fundamental for this purpose.

Political group: PPE-DE