A4-0115/98

Resolution on the information and communication policy in the European Union

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its resolution of 17 September 1993 ((OJ C 268, 4.10.1993, p. 192.)) on the information policy of the European Union,

- having regard to its resolution of 10 December 1996 on the participation of citizens and social players in the European Union's institutional system, ((OJ C 20, 20.1.1997, p. 31. )),

- having regard to its resolution of 19 November 1997 on the Amsterdam Treaty, ((OJ C 371, 8.12.1997, p. 99.)),

- having regard to the 17th declaration on information made by the Member States in the annex to the Treaty on European Union,

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and the opinions of the Committee on Budgets, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights and the Committee on Institutional Affairs (A4-0115/98),

A. whereas a genuine information and communication policy at the level of the European institutions must promote the objectives assigned to the European Union by the Treaties and awaken European citizens to the cause of European integration; whereas it must be based on the principle of direct dialogue with citizens,

B. whereas the communication policy of the European Institutions urgently needs adaptation, a higher profile and greater effectiveness as a 'conditio sine qua non' for obtaining the support of most European citizens for the integration process,

C. whereas, in view of the great events approaching the EU in the coming months, measures aimed at information and communication with citizens urgently need to be adapted and stepped up in order to increase awareness of the achievements and advantages of the Union and foster public support for the forthcoming stages of the integration process,

D. whereas the average participation in the elections to the European Parliament fell from 65.9% in 1979 to 58.5% in 1994 and whereas an increased participation in the elections in 1999 is absolutely essential, given the growing powers of the European Parliament (extension of codecision powers) and the importance of the political agenda (revision of the treaties, single currency, reform of agricultural and cohesion policies, financing of the Union, enlargement),

E. whereas participation in the European elections is hampered by an incomplete and/or negative picture of the European Parliament in the media and public opinion and whereas that can only be changed structurally through complete openness and transparency with regard to the operation of the institution,

F. whereas greater involvement by Members of the European Parliament in communication measures on the ground would help to increase public awareness of Parliament and bolster public interest in participating in the 1999 European elections,

G. whereas the forthcoming European elections in June 1999, the information campaign of the Amsterdam Treaty and the realization of Economic and Monetary Union force the Union to an intensified communication with the citizens,

H. whereas information campaigns cannot consist in developing unilaterally and exclusively a specific opinion on a proposal which does not meet with unanimous agreement,

I. whereas large sections of the population, and in particular the least favoured, are either poorly or inadequately informed about the action and the establishment of the Union; whereas in these groups there are negative feelings about Europe and whereas they should be a priority target group in any new communications policy,

J. whereas the negative feelings are strengthened by the dramatic level of unemployment and social exclusion, the lack of prospects for the future, the problems concerning the security of citizens and the negative experience of the role of the EU in the world; whereas these negative feelings lead to new forms of nationalism and intolerance, whereby the European project is called into question,

K. whereas surveys have shown that women and young people in particular are very sceptical about the European Union,

L. whereas the complex and opaque decision-making procedures in the European Union are not such as to facilitate communication with the citizens and whereas even the best communication strategies do little to counteract it,

M. whereas the information and communication policy should be consistent and effective; for this purpose, it should be geared to the realities, demands and, even, constraints which characterize the European Union and the modern-day world; to this end, it should be provided with a body that can give it appropriate strategy guidelines, ensuring that the messages conveyed are clear, unambiguous and easily accessible,

N. whereas the Commission and the European Parliament have both common and separate objectives for communication and whereas, depending on requirements, a common or individual communication policy must be developed; whereas however, this intensified cooperation should leave each institution sufficient autonomy to maintain the profile of its own roles and responsibilities,

O. whereas good communication starts with clear use of language, including in the treaties, legislative texts, communications, reports, etc.; whereas each European institution must always take this into account,

P. recognizing that, in order to bring the Union closer to the people, it is essential for them to be able to use their own language and whereas, therefore, a proper information and communication policy should take due account of the multilingualism which is an integral part of the EU,

Q. whereas the transparency of funding, the plurality of opinions and objectivity are essential guarantees of the credibility of any information policy,

R. whereas the European Union's information policy cannot make up for the lack of transparency and democracy in the institutions and decision-making procedures; whereas the complexity and non-transparency of procedures constitutes an unsurmountable obstacle to communication between the institutions and citizens; regrets the ineffectiveness of the provisions adopted in Amsterdam to remedy this state of affairs,

S. whereas the enlargement of the European Union and the problems raised by the proposals made by the Commission in 'Agenda 2000' will create an additional demand on information in both the Member states of the Union and the candidate member countries,

T. whereas, in this context, it is the job of Parliament - more than any other institution - to give its backing, as an Assembly made up of representatives who are directly elected by the general public, to the decisions taken by the Assembly and its constituent bodies in the course of the parliamentary term,

U. whereas the definition of a better European communication policy must take into account the new instruments offered by the information society, the possibility of inter-active use of these instruments and the development of an electronic democracy,

V. whereas the impending change to digital is likely to reinforce television's primacy as a source of information to the citizen,

W. whereas information and communication activities should not be considered as a policy by themselves but a support for the Union policies and thus, the Union should finance methods and instruments in relation to their purpose,

X. whereas the following factors contributed to the lack of success of the European communication policy:

- insufficient financial means,

- insufficient human resources, both quantitatively and qualitatively speaking,

- lack of co-ordination between the EU institutions,

- lack of co-ordination within individual institutions,

- insufficient decentralization towards the level of the Member States,

- insufficient co-operation between the EU institutions and the Member States,

- lack of common strategy,

- too much information, not enough communication,

- policy is too budget driven and is not sufficiently driven by the fact that communication should be the number one priority in the policy of European integration,

- lack of use of the new media outlets,

- execution of information policy is not sufficiently citizen orientated,

- either structural or occasional lack of transparency and openness in the institutions,

- absence of a clear policy on relations with the media, which is partly the result of inadequate and occasionally counter-productive reactions on the part of the European Parliament's appropriate bodies,

- failure to take sufficient account of the social dimension of European integration,

- failure to take sufficient account of the need for citizens to participate in European integration,

- information on the European Union's activities is too often couched in incomprehensible language which is a barrier to public interest and understanding,

Y. whereas the information programme for European citizens (PRINCE), developed at the initiative of Parliament, creates a new system involving Parliament, the Commission and the governments of the Member States and the current experiment should be continually assessed,

Z. having regard to the experience acquired over the last two years as regards the coordination of information policy by the interinstitutional working party in the context of PRINCE,

AA. whereas an effective information policy must reach out to all social structures; whereas it should not be confined to European or national administrative and political structures and whereas it must involve local authorities, civil society and education,

AB. whereas active and pluralist information is an element of the democratic debate in Europe and on Europe; whereas it must reflect the diversity of the opinions expressed in the European Union; whereas it must not be confined to presenting a 'single point of view' on Europe; whereas it must not eliminate opposition between institutions or between political forces, and whereas a democratic communication policy must be guided by the principle of open legislation and must make it its aim to enable citizens to engage in an active dialogue with the European legislative process,

AC. whereas in this context close contacts with the regional media play an important role in view of the wide coverage, in particular through radio and the printed media,

AD. whereas the Committee of the Regions should also be involved in the regional communication and distribution of information,

AE. whereas interinstitutional cooperation with regard to information on Europe was initiated by the Budgetary Authority in the framework of the 1995, 1996 and 1997 budgetary procedures; whereas in particular a Working Party on Information Measures was set up under the 1996 budget; whereas this structure was confirmed by the adoption of the 1997 budget, under which a Working Party on Ongoing Information Activities and a Working Party on Priority Information Measures were set up; whereas this structure has been continued in the 1998 budget,

AF. whereas through this resolution interinstitutional cooperation on European information should be developed and clarified, in the framework of the Working Party on Ongoing Information Activities,

Concerning the European Commission

1. Considers that the Commission must ensure co-ordination between General Direction X and the other general Directions;

2. Considers that the Commission must make better use of the audio-visual possibilities and satellite services (EBS);

3. Points out the need to implement the use of multimedia applications both in public and private places and at home, with a view to improving the dissemination of information on Europe through these interactive services;

4. Recommends that the Commission carry out information work in schools and stresses the need for its publications to be appropriate to the age and maturity of the pupils concerned, while respecting the plurality of views on and proposals for European integration;

5. Stresses the need in general to match the information made available more closely to the main target groups such as the press, educational establishments, industry and private citizens;

6. Suggests that the Commission carry out thorough feasibility studies on European communication policy in order to ensure that European citizens are provided with quality information, targeted where possible, which reflects their concerns and gives them a positive image of the European Union; in this context, specific campaigns aimed in particular at young people, women or those in a precarious situation in society would be particularly welcome;

7. Believes that the use and the diffusion of the polls made by the Eurobarometer, mainly the polls concerning specific targets and periodic flash reports should be implemented with the aim of helping the information policy and the evaluation of EU common policies;

8. Calls on the Commission, in accordance with the guidelines set out by the Milan European Council, to take the necessary initiatives to ensure, in cooperation with the governments of the Member States, the general celebration throughout the Union of Europe Day on 9 May;

9. Suggests the Commission should create specific information for decision makers;

10. Considers that all information programmes and initiatives need to be regularly assessed for efficiency and cost effectiveness;

11. Considers that, with regard to support and action programmes, the selection of projects should be more transparent and the reasons for the choice should be clearer to those who submit the projects;

12. Calls on the Commission in all its official documents, wherever possible, to use simple and clear language, and also for it to submit as soon as possible a proposal enabling the fundamental right of public access to legislative documents to be implemented;

13. Recalls that, in order to use the financial resources allocated to information more efficiently and effectively, both institutions have agreed on basic common principles which are:

- decentralization;

- interinstitutional cooperation;

- mobility and rotation of staff at external offices;

- intensifying contacts with citizens;

- value for money;

Concerning cooperation between Parliament and the Commission

14. Respects the autonomy of the two institutions given their respective institutional roles and responsibilities, while emphasizing that coordination should take place and, where appropriate, activities should be integrated;

15. Notes that the lack of a homogenous European public opinion and the existence of large political, cultural and socio-psychological differences in the structure and methodology of the media in the various Member States, which are reflected inter alia in a highly divergent and often sceptical general attitude towards the European Institutions, make it necessary for there to be greater diversification, and less centralized direction, of the Commission's and Parliament's central information policy at national and regional level;

16. Calls on the Commission, and undertakes itself, to move as rapidly as possible towards the combined use, wherever possible, of the infrastructure of inter alia the audiovisual services and the press centres of the European Parliament and the Commission in order to achieve the maximum effectiveness and efficiency of these activities;

17. Calls on the Commission, in order to ensure such cooperation, to submit by 30 September 1998, pursuant to the relevant Treaty provisions, a legislative proposal which taking into account the following guidelines:

- within the framework of the Working Party on Ongoing Information Activities, the establishment of regular coordination meetings between the Vice-President of Parliament with responsibility for information, the chairmen of Parliament's committees on Budgets and Culture and the Director-General of Parliament's DG III and the Commissioner with responsibility for information the Director-General of the Commission's DG X;

- the Working Party on Ongoing Information Activities is to be responsible for the co-ordination of the information and communication activities of the European Commission and the European Parliament as well as the follow-up of the combined activities of both institutions. The Working Party is to meet at least once every three months, assess the activities on a regular basis, propose the appropriate guidelines for their development and report to Parliament;

- all communication activities directed towards the general public, concerning general information on the functioning of the institutions and the contents of policies adopted, shall be executed, whenever possible, as a joint operation of the European Parliament and the Commission;

- all communication activities directed towards the press and those concerning activities of the two institutions as regards their specific institutional responsibilities, will be executed - as at present - by the separate information departments of the two institutions; however, both institutions commit themselves to inform each other of their respective initiatives. In the various information campaigns and seminars organized by the 'European Union Houses' in the Member States MEP's should be encouraged to participate;

- the Commission and the European Parliament to recognize the need for co-ordination of all communication activities;

- the activities of DG X and DG III will be executed in a decentralized way whenever possible and appropriate, i.e. at the level of the offices in the Member States, using, there appropriate, the various official languages in the Member States, as well as via the network of the different centres (Info Points, CDE, Carrefours ruraux, etc).The budget for decentralized actions should be increased on a percentage basis yearly;

- it is necessary to house together the national and regional offices of the Commission and the European Parliament with the aim of building 'European Union Houses' in all the Member States at national and eventually at regional level, and to permit the use of the facilities of these 'Houses' by organizations dealing with matters of European integration;

- the 'European Union Houses' facilitates 'one stop shopping' for the European citizen seeking information on EU activities, and detailed information on the execution of the specific responsibilities of both institutions. The 'European Union Houses' should be easily accessible and visible to the public;

- Parliament and the Commission must examine, in the framework of the Working Party on Ongoing Information Activities, the possibility of developing initiatives in new media outlets: a good example of a common initiative is the proposal made by the European Parliament on the 'memoires audiovisuelles de l'Europe';

- Parliament and the Commission must promote, in the framework of the Working Party on Ongoing Information Activities, the production of television programmes about the activities of the European Institutions which could be broadcasted by Euronews and other broadcasting media. Some joint audiovisual actions should be envisaged as it would be less costly and more efficient, and also of great symbolic importance;

- Parliament and the Commission must consider, in the framework of the Working Party on Ongoing Information Activities, a better use of EBS (Europe by Satellite) by journalists, broadcasting organizations and NGO's; in particular, it should consider facilitating a public service network perceived as credible and independent, able to reach a significant proportion of the European viewing audience and to emulate, in Europe, the success of C-Span in the United States. EBS might supply third parties with equipment to receive its programmes;

- it is necessary for Parliament and the Commission to encourage, in the framework of the Working Party on Ongoing Information Activities, the development of the audio-visual sector, through local and regional channels and cooperation with European organizations as the EBU (European Broadcasting Union), the international press agencies, through the production of EP audio-visual and radio programmes, as well as through the use of the Internet and CD-ROM in the framework of the 'CIVIS' structure created by the DG III of the European Parliament and containing the WEB Europarl, the Electronic Mail Europe and the 'chat';

- the decentralised and local presence of the EU institutions close to the citizens should be strengthened by allocating increased and adequate resources to networks such as the Europe Info Points, if necessary by reconsidering the amount of the budget dedicated to the national European Union Houses in the capitals of the member states; a detailed breakdown of the information policy budget, including all decentralised actions will be provided to the Working Party on Ongoing Information Activities, and be publicly available;

18. Stresses the need to involve the others EU institutions, mainly the Council but also the Committee of the Regions, in the co-operation between Parliament and the Commission;

Concerning the European Parliament

19. Considers that the Parliament, as the budget authority, should investigate the appropriate amount of funds necessary to real an information policy in conformity with its targets;

20. Considers that in its own decision-making process the European Parliament should have maximum transparency as its starting point and that it must repeatedly urge the other institutions to take maximum transparency into account;

21. With reference to the initiatives which have already been undertaken and the results obtained in recent years through Parliament's attempts to increase its profile and assert its political, legislative and budgetary role, considers that these efforts must be intensified in the coming months with particular regard to the practical implementation of Parliament's new powers as laid down in the Amsterdam Treaty, and also to the 1999 European elections;

22. Considers that the visitor groups are an excellent means of coming closer to the citizens. Regards it appropriate to study where improvements can be made in the quality of the reception and the programmes given to them and thus improve the effectiveness of the expenses made for visitor groups;

23. Considers that Parliament should hold an annual debate on the policy pursued by its own services on the basis of a strategic concept, a debate based on a report by the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media;

24. Recommends that the existing arrangements for refunding to broadcasting organizations the costs of using facilities (Satellite and microwaves links) should be simplified for reports concerning Parliament;

25. Believing it to be important that the work of the European Parliament be brought close to the citizen in particular by television, notes that the members of the European Parliament can use audio-visual facilities during part-sessions in Strasbourg and Brussels and also during Committee meetings in Brussels;

26. Considers that the Members of the European Parliament must have access to appropriate information materials (video cassettes, brochures, maps etc.) when they are asked to lecture on the European Union or a specific topic of European policy;

27. Stresses that it is essential that the information budget in 1999, to promote European values and democracy during the year dedicated to the European elections and to promote participation in that year's European elections, be increased;

28. Undertakes, and calls on its Members, to use whenever possible simple and clear language in all official documents;

29. Considers that negative and/or incomplete reporting in the media is not counteracted through defensive measures such as the 'fiche d'alerte' system but that such reporting must be anticipated by greater transparency, in relation to both the internal and external environment, in all aspects of Parliament's activities;

30. Considers that Parliament has nothing to hide and that therefore a professional but flexible relationship must be developed with the media and with journalists on the basis of maximum openness, taking into account, however, the right to privacy of Members and political groups;

Concerning the budgetary aspects

31. Underlines its responsibilities as budgetary authority for the use of the common funding in relation with the Union's political priorities; welcomes the initiatives taken so far to get closer to the citizen, through close monitoring of communication and information actions;

32. Recommends that, during the 1999 budgetary procedure, the two institutions should agree an action programme and a global financial envelope for support activities of the Union's priority policies, and for support to encourage citizens' participation in the European Parliament elections in 1999;

33. Instructs its Bureau to take any measures necessary to follow up the recommendations in this resolution;

34. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.