WRITTEN QUESTION P-2840/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (1 September 1997)

Subject: EU publications on the draft Amsterdam Treaty

As part of the Prince information programme, the Commission has published a booklet, A new Treaty for Europe: Citizen's guide. The booklet has also been published on the Commission's website.

Funding for the programme has been covered by budget line B3-306 in the 1997 EU budget. The commentaries on this budget line state that information activities concerning the Treaty's ratification should be 'regarded not as propaganda but as an effective channel of communication' between EU institutions and citizens and that the activities' 'must take account of specific national and regional characteristics.'

Despite the bar on propaganda, many would consider President Santer's introduction to the booklet to be enthusiastic advocacy for the Treaty, which has yet to be signed by EU leaders.

The Danish and Irish governments have both stated their commitment to hold a referendum on the Amsterdam Treaty, once its final version has been agreed and signed by EU heads of states.

In Denmark, the government requires that all publicly funded information on referendum proposals present both the arguments for and against the proposal, giving equal prominence to both. Ireland's Supreme Court found in 1995 that publicly-funded referendum campaigns of a partisan nature breached the provisions on equality, fair procedures in referendums and freedom of expression in Bunreacht na hÉireann, Ireland's constitution.

How many copies of the aforementioned booklet have been published? What languages has it been published in? Can the Commission give a breakdown in the distribution figures for each Member State? How many copies does it intend to distribute in the future?

Has the Commission sought legal advice about whether or not publications such as the Citizen's guide would interfere with the referendum process in Ireland and Denmark and the other Member States which may call a referendum on the proposed Treaty? In the case of Ireland has it sought advice about whether or not publications on the Treaty prior to a referendum would breach the 1995 Supreme Court judgment in the McKenna case and if so what advice did it receive?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (6 October 1997)

The Commission publishes information for the general public on all important Community issues, policies and actions. The brochure 'A new Treaty for Europe Citizen's guide', describing the draft treaty of Amsterdam, is but one example of this information activity. The aim of the guide is to give citizens a simple factual overview of what the treaty of Amsterdam says and what its objectives are.

The publication of this brochure forms an integral part of the special effort made to inform the citizens in Europe as quickly as possible and in a clear and accessible way about the outcome of the intergovernmental conference and the treaty of Amsterdam. This effort falls within the objectives of the PRINCE programme in its dimension known as 'Building Europe together'.

The print runs of such publications are decided in consultation with the Commission's representations, the Parliament's offices, and other Community information services in the Member States. For the brochure in question, 534 000 copies were printed, covering the eleven official languages. Overall distribution, by Member State, was as follows:

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50 000 copies have been reserved for visitors to the Commission and the Parliament at Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, and 20 000 more for Commission delegations in third countries. The rest have been sent to citizens requesting them directly by telephone, mail or internet. As for future dissemination, the first print run is nearly exhausted, and requests for a second edition, amounting in total to some 902 000 copies, have already been received from the above-mentioned representations and offices.

As the Honourable Member herself points out, not only has the Amsterdam treaty not yet been signed, but the Member States which may call a referendum have not yet indeed called a referendum or started the process therefor involving campaigns. In these circumstances and without considering whether national provisions on public funding limitations for referendum campaigns apply to the Community, nor whether the Commission's publication could be seen as part of a campaign, the examination of the Commission's publication in relation to such limitations was not at stake.

The 17 November 1995 'McKenna judgement' of the Irish supreme court related to the activity of the Irish government. Since no action of the Irish government is involved, and since the publication cannot reasonably be construed as promoting a campaign, the issue of examination of the publication in the light of the McKenna judgement did not arise.