ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(77)114
Vol.1977/0046

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(77)114final.
Brussels.25March1977*
COMMISSION INFORMATION PROGRAMME
INPREPARATION FORDIRECTELECTIONS TOTHEEUROPEANPARLIAMENT
C0M(77)114final.
V

COMMISSION INFORMATION PROGRAMME
INPREPARATION FOR DIRECT ELECTIONS TOTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
*1111 m ■ ii ■■ ■ ––– –
Introduction :The Role ofthe Commission
Inthelight oftheforthcoming direct election totheEuropean Parliament
theCommunity 'sinstitutions andpolitical parties must make aconcerted
effort tomake thepeople ofEurope more aware ofwhat isinvolved inthe
European venture byfocusing attention ontheCommunity 'ssuccesses and
difficulties ,itsorigins and itsfuture .TheCommission hasamajor role
toplay here andtothis endmust make thebest possible useofitsinformation
programme andtheadditional funds which have been allocated forthis purpose .
TheCommission feels that ,ifthe180million orsovoters aretotake an
informed decision onpolling day ,they must know howtheCommunity operates ,
what issues aretoberesolved atEuropean level andwhy ,andwhat proposals
have been made tothis end .TheCommission therefore hastwospecific aims
inmind :firstly ,toensure that each andevery voter isaware oftheway
Community decisions affect his life andthewayhecanhelp shape these
decisions byvoting ;secondly ,tomake certain that theCommission for its
part isaware oftheattitudes andaspirations oftheelectorate .
\
Obviously the273press ,radio andtelevision journalisits currently accredited
totheCommission aretheprimary channels viawhich information about the
Community flows onadaytodaybasis .Although they represent theworld 's
media ,ahigh proportion oftheir work isvia themedia ofthenine member
states oftheCommunity .While respecting thecomplete freedom ofexpression
ofthis press corp3 ,this iswhere priority oust begiven interms ofth*
information programme .
Itistrue that the electorate asawhole favours direct elections .Successive
Euro-Barometers have shown that bylate 1976 69$werp infavour ofthe
elections ascompared with 61%inlate 1973 (though these averages hide the
fact that thesituation inanumber ofcountries israther difficult ).
Butinterest inEuropean affairs isstill largely passive :Euro-Barometers
have revealed that intheCommunity asawhole only 22%ofinterviewees
claimed tobe"very interested "inCommunity problems ,andonly about 11%
discussed them "often ".
Thepublic asawhole does not see "Europe "asavital force forsolving the
practical day-to-dayproblems facing theman inthestreet .Thesuccesses
ofthesixties tend tobeforgotten :thepublic sees inflation ,unemployment
andenergy problems ,and itdoubts whether theCommunity canplay amajor part
intackling them .
Ofcourse thewaytheCommunity responds tosuch problems isvital for itand
foreach member state ,andagainst this sceptical background direct elections
stand outasamajor event inthehistory ofourCommunity .Forthefirst
time ever allthepeople oftheCommunity will beasked notonly todemonstrate
their willingness topress ahead butalso topronounce ontheCommunity 's
objectives .Forthis reason direct elections areagenuine "first ".The

occasional referendums which have been held within theCommunity were
something quite different .In1978 thevoter will have toselect the
individuals orpolitical parties hewants toseerepresenting thepeople of
Europe intheEuropean Parliament .
Introduction ofthedemocratic process atCommunity level will call fora
major effort onthepart ofallthepolitical parties ,theMember States
andtheCommunity 'sinstitutions .Thetask -making 180million voters more
aware ofCommunity issues -isimmense .Itisessential that allconcerned
join forces ifwearetoensure that asmany people aspossible vote inthe
first direct elections .Themain objectives oftheCommission 'sprogramme must
bedefined here andnow .
TheCommission 'sprogramme will beimplemented inassociation with the
European Parliament 'sinformation services toensure agreater degree of
coordination andhence efficiency inthecampaigns launched byboth
institutions .Regular contacts have already been established between the
twoinstitutions andbetween their respective Information Offices .
TheCommission must obviously continue toplay itsproper political role .
Butitsinformation programme nrust befactual ,providing objective information
on,forinstance ,theworking ofCommunity institutions ,thecommon policies ,
proposals putforward bytheCommission ,thedebates sparked offbytftese
proposals ,thedecisions finally taken ,andsoon.
Itwill then beforthepolitical parties ,inthecontext oftheir own
campaigns ,toassess this information inpolitical terms .
The Resources available
Onepoint isclearj thepresent programme covers this year only andis
therefore nomore than a"lead in"to1978 •
Bearing inmind therelatively limited means atourdisposal wewill direct
ourefforts in 1977 •almost exclusively ,to 'opinion makers '.Bycontrast
in1978 theaimshould betoachieve more direct contact with asmany voters
aspossible .Ofcourse ,ifthis istobeachieved ,available funds will have
tobeincreased since theinformation programme will have tobegeared ,both
inscope andtiming tothediffering political andeconomic situations
prevailing inthenine member states .Thecosts forthis will befarhigher
than would bethecase ifidentical programmes could beconducted inall
nine countries .
1
Infact apart from itsnormal information programme thefunds available to
theCommission totryandpresent thefacts to180million voters only amount
toonemillion units ofaccount at0.00555 P«rvoter .
Within this limit itisimpossible tocall onpublic relations firms tomount
large-scfyle information campaigns ,although theCommission 'sinformation
aervioes will continue tomake occasional useofspecialized firms forcertain
epecific projects .
Similarly ,anyindividual project aimed atreaching voters directly isoutof
thequestion (forinstance ,anall-out Community-wide poster campaign would
cost somthing intheregion of5million u.a,).
Forthis reason and ifaneffort inthis direction istobemade theCommission
Bust consider diverting aproportion ofitsresources under the"normal "
information programme tosupplement thespecial budget .

-3-
TheInformation Programme
TheCommission'sinformationeffortwillthereforefallundertvoseparate
headings,namelyits"normal"information programmefor1977andthespecial
electionprogramme.
"Normal"information programmefor1977
(a)Throughout1977the"theme"ofdirectelections,calculatedtoinvolve
Europeansintheconstruction ofEurope,willbegivenapriorityin
allinformationactivitieslaunchedundertheCommission's"normal"
information programme,whichwasforwardedtoParliamentinDecember1976•
Ataroughestimate-itisimpossibletobemorepreciseatthisstage-
6cjfooftheCommission'sinformationeffortintheNineunderthe"normal"
programmein1977willdealinsomewaywiththedirectelectionstheme-
throughthepublicationofarticlesinCommissionperiodicals ,the
organisation oflecturesduringinformationvisits,thedistribution of
writtenoraudio-visual materialonCommunitypolicies,thedesigning
ofspecialdisplaysforexhibitions,andsoon*
(b)Thethemeofdirectelections,andtheprofoundsignificanceofthe
eventitself,willbecomethekeyfeatureofthe1977programmeastime
goeson.Thiswillcallforthepreparationofspecificwrittenfsound
oraudio-visual material,increaseduseoftheCommission'sradioand
televisionstudios,themountingofspecialexhibitionstotourcertain
countries,utilizationofspecialvenues,suchasshows,fairsand
exhibitions whichattractlargeaudiencesforsettingupCommunitystands,
postercampaignsetc.
Specialelectionprogramme ;Information directedat"opinionmakers"
TheCommissionwillalsoimplementaspecialinformation programmetobe
financedfromthespecialbudgetearmarkedforpreparations fordirect
elections(1millionu.a.).#
Themédia
Itinclearthatthereisobviouslynoquestionofreaching1C0millionvotern
withoutthehelpofthemansmedia,whetheritbethepress,radioortelevision *
Wehavealreadydrawnattentiontotheparticularroleplayedbyjournalists
accreditedtoth'Commission.InadditiontheCommission intendsviaits
InformationofficestosupplyfactsheetsonCommunitypoliciesrelevantto
directelections,tojournalistsofnationalandregionalnewspapers.Sectorial
newspaperse.g.oftradeunionswillalsoconstituteanimportanttarget.The
CommissionwillalsoorganiseaspecialprogrammeofvisitstoBrussels.
TheCommission intendstoenhanceitscontactswithnationalradioand
televisionnetworks.Itseffortsinthisdirectionhavealreadybornefruit
intheformofmuchmoreextensivecoverageofCommunityaffairs.Closelinks
havebeenestablished withnationalnetworksandwiththeEuropean
Broadcasting Union(SSU),

-4-
TheCommissions newcolour TVstudio will soon belinked to
Eurovision toallow extensive ,up-to-the-minute broadcasting
ofCommunity news .National networks will also have access
toother technical facilities andaseries ofworking meetings
will beorganized inBrussels topromote cooperation between
networks .TheCommission will also offer organizations
willing tohelp with thepublicity campaign facilities ff?r
producing slide programmes ,video-cassette programmes an<|.other
audio-visual material *
External Organizations _
Inadifferent way ,senior staff working fororganizations
particularly involved inthe "public "aspects ofnational life
are "opinion makers "too*
(a)There are rr.any organisations ofthis type including
political associations ,trade unions ,university associations ,
women 'sgroups ,farmers *associations ,youth movements ,
teachers *associations ,environmental protection andconsumer
information groups and soon.TheCommission isplanning to
organize aspecial series ofbriefings onEuropean affairs
fortheleaders ofthedifferent political ,social or
cultural associations throughout theCommunity .Once briefed
participants will beinaposition tolead group discussions
onEurope within their ownorganizations *
These briefings will beorganized bytheCommission ,again
inclose collaboration with theEuropean Parliament 's
information services ,atregional ,national orCommunity
level *Itishoped that approximately 3000people will be
reached inthis way .
Regional ornational briefings will last foroneortwo
days andwill ,forpractical reasons ,beconfined togroups
ofnotmore than forty .Programmes will bebuilt around the
special interests ofeach group ,butwill invariably include
aseries oftalks onthescope andsignificance ofdirect
elections andontheaims andachievements oftheCommunity ,
ι

-5-
Alimitednumberofin-depthbriefingswillalsobeorganized
inBrussels.Thesewillbegearedtokeygroups;
i itisfeltthattheseshouldbe
broughtintodirecxcontactwiththeCommission.Thebriefings
willlastfornotmorethantwodaysandwillinvolvetwenty
peopleatime#
(b)'XheexternalspeakersusedbytheCommissiontoaddresspublic
meetingsorganizedatregionalorlocallevelfor.panother
categoryof"opinionmaker".
Information materialanddocumentation
TheCommissionisintheprocessofpreparinginformationmaterial
anddocumentation tobackupandfacilitatetheworkof"opinion
makers"andtomeetthelargenumberofrequestsforinformation
whichwillbereceived(witnessthereferendumcampaigninthe
UnitedKingdom)*
(a)Publicationswillinclude:
(i)additionalrunsofthe"baslobooklets"(dealingwi*hthe
4

historicalbackground,themainareasofCommunityi^otivity,
andtheworkingofitsinstitutions);thoseareaijpedat
apublicwithsomeknowledgeofEuropeanaffairs:
(ii)ageneralbrochure(afirstrunof400000copies)«jndeven
simplerleaflets(arunofapproximately onemillioncopies))
bothofthesepublicationswillbeproducedbythe
Community'sInformationOfficessothattheycanbetailored
tolocalaudiences;theywillhoweverbebuiltarounda
"commoncore":
(iii)specialisedbrochurestoeaterforspecificnationalneeds)
(iv)informationkitsfororganizers,mainlyintendedfo;»
participantsintheseminarprogramme*
(b)Audio-visualmaterial,mostofwhichwillbepreparedby
headquarters information services.Thismaterialwillbe
designedforuseatseminarsorganizedfor''opinionmakers"
and,moregenerally,atlectures,talksormeetingsoJfallkinds
organizedaspartoftheoampaignswhichwilldevelopasthe
eleotionsdrawnear.
Arrangements havealreadybeenmadeforfoursetsofulides
withcommentaries (thehistoryoftheEuropeanCommunity;the
EuropeanParliamentanditsrole;Communitypolicies)
Europeanelectionsandtheyoung)andtwo15-minutefilms
(drawinginthemainonarchive
material,theotherhighlightingtheimportanceofthefirst
Europeaneleotions)*

-7-
Subsidies forprogrammes mounted byoutside agencies
TheCommission will beprepared toassist information programmes mounted
bymovements particularly interested intheEuropean venture andactivities
which could bepromoted with thehelp oftheuniversities ,notably European
Institutes orStudy Centres orassociations ofthese bodies .
TheCommission 'spresent intention iftosetroughly onethird ofthespecial
budget (approximately 300000u.a.)aside forthis purpose .
These organisations areinaposition todistribute information efficiently
andmany ofthem have been receiving Commission support foranumber ofyears .
TheCommission hasbeen able toassess their impact onpublio opinion .A
Commission subsidy tcombined with theother sources offinance available to
these organisatipns ,will alow them toreach awider ,sometimes aconsiderably
wider ,audience .
Asfarastheuniversities areconoerned ,theCommission hasbeen made aware
ofthevalue oftheir analysis andresearch work onmany occasions .Itknows
that theimpact ofthese activities canbeconsiderably greater inareas where
European Institutes orStudy Centres arelocated .
Strict criteria will beapplied toselect theprogrammes which will receive
financial backings presentation ofdetailed programmes ,political balance ,
impact onpublic opinion ,multiplying effect ,proportion ofthecost being met
bythemovement ?rorganisation presenting theproject .
TheCommission will monitor implementation oftheprogrammes subsidised to
ensure that they doinfact deal with theEuropean elections .
Ofcourse theprogramme outlined above will have tobeadapted orindeed given
new direotion tomeet changing requirements intheperiod between nowand
polling day .That programme will need tobeflexible enough torespond to
relevant headline news ;wemayhave tochange ourapproach inthelight of
publio reaction ^ndwewill have totake account ofthefindings ofthesurvey
ofpublic attitudes todirect elections tobeorganised bytheCommission
atParliament 'srequest . #
«