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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (79)701
Vol.1979/0239

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
•^1<s»"\,r^„\-\V*ν\
AV-, .cm/COM(79)701 final
Brussels-10December1979
INFORMATION PROGRAMME FOR1980
(Communication fromtheCommission totheCouncil)
COM(79)701final

INFORMATION PROGRAMME FOR 1980
I,INTRODUCTION .
1. In1980 theCommission has torespond toagrowing demand for infor­
mation about theCommunity both within themember states and innon-member
countries ata.time when theresources available toit,inboth staff and
funds ,areincreasingly inadequate .. ." '
2.,,Asfarasthemember states areconcerned theCommission isacutely
conscious that thefirst elections totheEuropean Parliament revealed wide-'
spread ignorance about how theCommunity -works andwhat ithasachieved ,as
well asdisturbingly lowlevels ofpopular sup-port for.it ,inoneortwo
"member countries .Itintends ,therefore ,tointensify itsefforts toexplain /
toaswide anaudience aspossible theneed for ,and' hework of,theCommu­
nity ..
3. Outside theCommunity ,theforthcoming entry ofGreece and thenego­
tiations for theentry ofSpain andPortugal require adevelopment ofinfor­
mation activities inallthree countries .Andwhile existing priorities will
bemaintained forwork inthemajor industrialised countries ,special efforts
have tobemade toexplain thenewtome agreement intheACPcountries .At
thesame time ,itisalso ^desirable tomaintain 'the existing level ofeffort
inTurkey and theEFTA countries ;togive anewimpetus towork inLatin
America ;toprovide thepress andinformation office inthenewDelegation
inBangkok with themeans tocover thevast area of-South andSouth-East Asia ;
tobuild upinformation work intheSouthern Mediterranean ;andtoextend
information work toAustralasia .
4. Informulating itsbudgetary requests forinformation work ,the
Commission took into account -allthese needs ,including pressure from a(lumber
ofmember states toincrease the funds available for information work outside
theCommunity .TheCouncil ,,however ,reduced themajor credits requested
(post 2720 )from 9million EUA to7.5millions .TheEuropean Parliament
subsequently voted torestore this cut :theCommission warmly welcomes this
initiative -andhopes that itwill beconfirmed inthefinal stages ofthe
budgetary procedure .
5. Whatever thefinal level ofcredits agreed ,theCommission believes thau
.a.continuing major priority should begiven toinformation work within the '
member countries ..It'isproposing ,however ,to.make amodest increase inthe .
proportion ofitsfunds devoted towork in "r-hird countries primarily inorder
toextend itswork inGreece and theother twoapplicant countries ,and in
ACPandother developing countries . <
6. Inallareas ,resources will bestretched totheir limits .'Itwill be .
necessary tofocus activities oncarefully selected priorities ,both interms
ofaudiences and themes ;toseek themost effective balance between thevarious
types ofinstruments available forinformation work ;and toensure an'optimal
use ofboth staff and credits . , •

-2-
II.INFORMATION INMEMBER COUNTRIES i .
7. The Commission 'sGeneral Directorate for Information has Te–examined
theactivities both ofitscentral services andpress andinformation offices ,
inthelight ofthelessons learned during the special information programme
-organised jointly with theEuropean Parliament –leading uptothefirst
direct elections .
8. Although substantial additional resources would beneeded toorganise
information campaigns .onasimilar scale ,other lessons aremore immediately
relevant .They areinline with thenew ,guidelines forinformation policy '
adopted by .theCommission in1977 .They include thecrucial importance ofthe
mass -media incommunicating with thegeneral public ;thedesirability of
concentrating effort onspecific themes directly related tocurrent concerns
andpolicies 5andthe -need for aclear message and simple explanation even
when the subject matter itself iscomplex .,
9. Anumber ofdecisions have been taken toputthese lessons into practice .
Thefirst isthecreation ofanewMedia Directorate bringing together the
Spokesman 'sGroup andtheTV/Radio andAudio-Visual Division .Thebulk ofthe -
work ofthis Division isnowrelated tothecoverage ofnews events ,and itis
necessary that itsday-to-daywork should bemore closely coordinated with that
oftheSpokesman 'sGroup .Thesecond decision isthat part oftheannual budget
should besetaside forusein -connection with information work onthe .priority
themes decided ontheoccasion ofeach four-monthly review oftheinformation
programme .This will mean that more resources will beavailable forthese
priority information activities togive them more impact onthepublic .A
third decision isthenomination byeach policy-making General Directorate of
aninformation correspondent .Thetask ofthese correspondents istoensure
close working relations with theGeneral Directorate forInformation ^toalert .
ittoforthcoming policy proposals and decisions 5andtoprovide background
material andother assistance intheorganisation ofinformation activities on
priority themes .Other decisions have also been taken .These relate toamore
precise identification ofthetarget audiences forinformation work ,and toa
number ofaspects ofpublications policy (seebelow ,paras 13-15and 21-22).
1 Themes -
10. Theessential message which theCommission will seek *tocommunicate will
bethat ofthenecessity ofcontinuing and developing thework DftheCommunity -
asaninstrument toenable its members tofind common solutions totheir common
problems .This isallthemore important atatime ofeconomic crisis ,and
when theproblems facing theCommunity ontheeveofitsfurther enlargement
are already acute .
* •
1.1. Close attention will bepaid to.thecentral issues engaging theatten­
tion oftheCommunity 'sinstitutions ,including thecommon agricultural policy
and thebudget .With regard tothe former ,thecentral information unit deal­
ing -with agricultural information isnow located intheGeneral Directorate
forAgriculture .-Together with theinformation service ,itisdeveloping a .

v.^-,7range ofpublications andother activities ,including selected visits t'
Brussels ,thetraining ofspeakers ,andtheproduction ofsupporting materia j
■toprovide notonly those directly engaged inagriculture ,butalso thegeue
r<2lpublic ,with authoritative information about current developments .
While theregular information work oftheCommission will cover these
a.vlother current themes , each four-monthly review ,ofthe informati'
programme .will identify those towhich special priority should begiven .Wh
necessary ,additional resources will beallocated tothem from thereserve
which hasbeen setaside forthis purpose (seeabove ,para 9).Priorities 1:
theearly part oftheyear will include acontinuation ofthework already
undertaken tounderline theimportance ofthemeasures being taken bythe
Community "tomeet theenergy crisis ,and .theneed for aCommunity response tc
challenge presented bydevelopments inelectronics and telecommunication !-
('telematique ').Anumber ofspecial activities will also becontinued in
areas particularly affected bythecrisis insteel toexplain themeaisures
bedng taken bytheCommunity tohelp theindustry .
Audiences ^
)3._ Incommunicating with thepublic ofthemember countries ,theCommiss­
ionaims toreach thelargest possible audience ..Itrecognises ,however ,tha .
themeans available toitdonotnormally allow ittoreach themass ofthe
general public directly .Most ofthecitizens oftheCommunity learn about
itsactivities through themedia ,where news andcomment about ithastocomp
with many other claims ontheir attention .Thedegree ofattention paid toz
affairs oftheCommunity bythose whowork inthemedia istherefore ofcruci
importance .For this reason theCommission attaches thehighest importance t
thedevelopment ofitsrelations with them . .
ji. Another group ofmajor importance indetermining attitudes towards the
Community ,andproviding information about it,iscomposed ofthose engaged i
political activities either intheCommunity institutions themselves ,orat
national andregional level .Inthis context aparticularly important role v
beplayed by ,thedirectly-elected Members oftheEuropean Parliament :the -
Commission will make available itsinformation material tocomplement that
produced bytheParliament 'sowninformation service with which itisanxious
tomaintain theclose working relations established inthecourse ofthejoi ^.
.campaign for the "elections . ''
Itwill also seek,' "within thelimits ofitsresources ,to.continue to
payspecial -attention tothe .needs ofother leaders andformers ofopinion ,
.especially those intrade unions ,farmers' organisations ,consumers ,environ
mc.urf.l andwomens 'organisations ,and inuniversities ,schools andyouth
ovga.ij.is ations .Responsibility forwork with regard tothese last three isno;
shared between theDirectorate General forResearch ,Science and Education -
lrhere lK->central information unit islocated -and the information service .

Instruments
i)Central units andinformation offices .'
16. The structural changes made bythepresent Commission intheorganisa -
•tion ofitsinformation services ,and inparticular theformation ofasingle
unit combining theSpokesman 'sGroup and theGeneral Directorate forInforma­
tion ,nowensure close andeffective coordination oftheir complementary
activities .Regular meetings will beheld during theyear with theHeads of
information offices tosupplement thedaily liaison between them and thecentral
services . "
17. TheCommission attaches much importance tomeasures todevelop thework -
ofitsoffices ,inparticular attheregional level ,inorder toreach awider
audience .Atpresent regionalised information activities areonly possible on -
asystematic andregular basis intheUnited Kingdom ,where there are sub-
offices inCardiff ,Edinburgh andBelfast .For 1980 theCommission hasrequest­
edadditional staff toenable theopening ofasub-office inboth theFederal
Republic and Italy .This isthefirst stage ofatwo-year programme which aims
toprovide twosub-offices for each ofthese twocountries ,and areinforcement
oftheStaff oftheParis office toenable acorresponding increase inregional
information activity inFrance .TheCommission isalso aware oftheneed to
reinforce its .offices providing information for theBenelux countries .
il)Relations with themédia .
18. Akey role will continue tob§played bytheSpokesman sGroup ,which
provides aregular daily flow ofinformation totheaccredited press corps _
whose presence inBrussels ensures rapid andwidespread coverage ofcurrent
news .TheGroup also services theinformation offices ,providing them with .
background material andanswers toquestions posed byjournalists inthemember
countries . - 1
19. Alongside it,theTV/Radio andAudio-Visual Division provides radio and
television studios andother supporting technical services for thenetworks .
Inthe first nine months of1979 there were 820 transmissions from the radio
studio ,and 58from thetelevision studio .TheDivision also provided coverage
of124Community -events during thesame period ,either bydirect filming or
assistance tocamera crews from networks .Its technical facilities are current­
lybeing extended bytheacquisition ofelectronic news-gathering (ENG )equip­
ment linked into the studio which will allow instantaneous transmission of
interviews from theBerlaymont .TheDivision also has aunique archive offilm
material about theCommunity ;production facilities forvideo-recordings ;and
for thesupply ofphotographs andcolour slides .Forall these services there
isasteady demand ,especially onthepart ofthemembers ofthfeEuropean
Broadcasting Union with which close relations have been built upinrecent
years -andwhich theCommission will continue todevelop inthecoming year .
20. Theoffices ,for their part ,will maintain "andextend their relations
with those inthemedia ;organise briefings onspecific topics ;andprovide
background material forboth national and regional journalists .
••/••

xii)Publications
21.Theresults ofreforms carried outover thepast twoyears inthepu–
blicatiorvs programme ,designed toprovide shorter andsimpler material ,have
metwith anencouraging response .Theseries ofshort pamphlets onindividual -
topics ,entitled 'European File' hasbeen particularly well received :130,00'''
copies ofeach issue arenowbeing produced .There hasalso been anincreasi ;
demand forthefortnightly news magazine ,Euroforum which isnowsent to.over
90,000 addresses .Itsdistribution will beconsolidated during theyear and
itsmailing list checked once ithasbeen putoncomputer .
22. Atthesame time anumber ofchanges have -,orwill bemade ,tocertain
publications produced bytheoffices .Theaim istoreduce thenumber of
individual titles andregroup them into series ,while ensuring that periodical ,
publications areadapted tocurrent information policy objectives andtheneeds
ofeach national audience .Thefirst part ofthereview ofthese publications
hasbeen carried outandsome changes aretobemade atthebeginning of1980 ;
thereview will becompleted during thefirst half oftheyear ..
IV)Visits
23. Visits toBrussels remain anindispensable means ofdeveloping relations ,
with keyopinion leaders andformers .While every effort will'be made to
maintain thepresent flow ofgroup andindividual visitors ,budgetary restric­
tions mean that measures will have tobetaken toreduce costs asfar as
possible .Non-priority groups' will bereceived forshort visits based ona
newaudio-visual presentation which hasbeen installed ir'the Berlaymont .
v)Exhibitions
%
24. Within theCommunity thehigh costs ofaneffective presence mmajor
fairs andexhibitions mean that theCommission canonly very occasionally
give apositive response tosuch invitations .Itwill ,"h.o :ev2r ,continue to
organise small travelling exhibitions ,and isstudying thepossibility of
providing display "material foruse inlibraries ,schools ,etc . "
III.' INFORMATION INNON-MEMBER COUNTRIES r
25. Outside theCommunity ,themain aimofthe Coimni ssion 1sinformation
programme istobuild upasympathetic understanding oftheCommunity 's
achievement ,and itsrole intheworld .But ithasaspecial andadditional
task inGreece ,Spain andPortugal tohelp prepare those countries forentry
into theCommunity .
26. ToUndertake this work ,theCommission currently haseleven press and
information offices outside theCommunity -inAthens ,Lisbon' ,Madrid (due to
beopened early in1980),Ankara ,Geneva ,,Washington ,NewYork ,Ottawa ,Caracas ,
Tokyo andBangkok (Thelast seven ofthese form part ofCommission .Delegations ).
Seme ofthe offices -like thosa in

-6 1-
Caracas andBangkok -have ,with very small staffs ,totry tomeet theinfor­
mation needs ofvast regions .Intheir case ,thecooperation oftheinforma­
tion councillors ofthemember states isofparticular importance .(Seebelow ,
para 34). -
27. Inmaking thedifficult choice ofpriorities for itsinformation work
outside theCommunity ,theCommission in1980 will continue togive particular
importance toitsinformation programme intheUnited States .There ,an
increasing number ofkeypeople arebeing reached notonly bypersonal contact ,
but also through themagazine Europe ,aswell asthemedia .Itisplanned to
continue -and ,ifpossible ,extend -theexperiment ofsending radio tapes
dealing with current European issues toselected networks .Butaspecial effort
will have tobemade inayear when domestic affairs -andinparticular the
presidential election -will inevitably claim major attention .
28. More modest programmes will becontinued intwooftheother major
industrialised countries -Canada andJapan .Intheformer country aneffort
will bemade toextend theinformation effort tokeygroups intheprairie and
western spates ,backed byare-designed regular publication .Animproved
Bulletin isalso planned forJapan ,where greater attention will also bepaid
tothose working inthemedia .Among other priority groups ,relations will
also bestrengthened with universities ,where there isasubstantial degree of
interest intheCommunity .
29. InEurope ,aspecial effort will bemade todevelop information activi­
ties in .Greece inpreparation forthat country 'sentry into theCommunity .
Among theinitiatives which areplanned ,isparticipation intheFair of
Thessaloniki ,together with anumber ofthemember states .ForSpain and
Portugal aprimary task ofthenewpress andinformation offices will beto
develop arange ofbasic publications about theCommunity torespond togrowing
interest aroused bythecurrent negotiations .Contacts will beestablished
anddeveloped with keyleaders andformers ofopinion ;anumber ofthem will
beinvited toBrussels for information visits .
30. Although itisdifficult toforecast thepattern ofdevelopments in
Turkey ,and itsrelations with theCommunity ,•theCommission will seek to
maintain therange orinformation activities built upover recent years ,in
which aspecial emphasis hasbeen given toproviding basic documentation on
theCommunity .
31. Atthe same' time 'information activities indeveloping countries have
tobemaintained asfar asACP and South Mediterranean countries are concerned
and ,eventually ,developed inothers (Asia ,Latin America).' Inparticular ,
close cooperation has tobemaintained both with local andsuch European radio
networks broadcasting toACP ,radio being themost important ofallmedia in
most ofthedeveloping countries .Information visits will bemade within the
limits "ofavailable resources . •
32. InLatin America ,theoffice inCaracas isnowinaposition togive
anew impetus towork inthat continent after some disruption caused bythe

(transfer oftheDelegation from Santiago .Atthesame time ,thenewoffice
inBangkok will provide ameans tobuild upcontacts andprovide basic material
for thecountries ofSouth and South-East Asia ,i
33. Oneinstrument which hasbeen developed forthese and .other developing
countries istheweekly film magazine ,Europe Pictorial .This isnowsent to
70countries ,intwoversions ,forboth cinema distribution andusebytele­
vision stations .Themember states contribute material ,asdoes theCommission ,
which exercises editorial control and isalso responsible foritsdistribution .
Afull report on .itsimpact ,made byanindependent expert ,will becompleted
in1980 andwill serve -together with reports from theDelegates -asabasis
for -future policy decisions about it.
34. Forother countries andparts oftheworld where theCommission has no
representation -including theEFTA countries (other than Switzerland ,
which isserved bytheGeneva office which also provides information forthe ■
international organisations located there )-anumber ofactivities will be
undertaken atthe initiative ofits central services inBrussels .For such
countries animportant means ofcontact "isprovided bytheinformation
councillors ofmember states who regularly submit reports andsuggestions to
theCouncil 'sWorking Group onInformation ,which wcfrks closely with senior
officials ofthe Commission 'sGeneral Directorate for Information .Itis .
through these contacts that Commission information publications are .made avail­
able ,andincertain cases visits toBrussels arranged .Cooperation will also
bemaintained with theCouncil 'sWorking G~oup onFairs andExhibitions ,with
aview toorganising ajoint presence ofthemember states aridtheCommission
innon-member countries .Such cooperation hasalready produced good results,'
andin1980 will include .,discussion ofplans for amajor exhibition onenergy
due totake place atKnoxville , rUSAin1982 ,