Report from the Commission to the Council - Explaining Europe's Enlargement
Date: 2002-06-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Central and Eastern Europe, accession to the European Union, dissemination of EU information, enlargement of the Union, public awareness campaign

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 5.6.2002
COM(2002) 281 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

Explaining Europe’s Enlargement

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

Explaining Europe’s Enlargement

1. 

INTRODUCTION

The  Laeken  European  Council  in  December  2001  confirmed  the  Unions  determination  “to
bring  the  accession  negotiations  with  the  candidate  countries  that  are  ready  to  a  successful
conclusion  by  the  end  of  2002,  so  that  those  countries  can  take  part  in  the  European
Parliament  elections  in  2004  as  members.”  Furthermore,  the  European  Council  agreed  with
the Commission that, “if the present rate of progress is maintained, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary,
Latvia,  Lithuania,  Malta,  Poland,  the  Slovak  Republic,  the  Czech  Republic  and  Slovenia
could be ready”.

As the 5th and most challenging enlargement of the Europen Union draws closer the interest
among  the  citizens  of  the  current  and  future  Member  States  is  increasing.  Various
stakeholders,  such  as  interest  groups,  business  organisations,  and  non-governmental
organisations, are becoming more interested in enlargement as issues arise that directly affect
them. These stakeholders are likely to play an increasing role in the debate as the enlargement
process moves forward.

This  enlargement  will  change  the  face  of  Europe and  will  affect  all  Community  institutions
and  areas  of  policy.  The  two  underlying  strategic  aims,  projecting  political  stability  and
strengthening Europe as an economic power, can be achieved.

The benefits of enlargement are already visible. Stable democracies have emerged in Central
and Eastern Europe. The credit of this success belongs mainly to the people of these countries
themselves.  They  alone  took  the  decision  to  build  open  societies,  modern  democracies  and
functioning  market  economies.  But  undoubtedly  the  process  was  supported  and  encouraged
by the prospect of European integration.

The enlargement of the Union will strengthen its ability to confront the challenges of the new
century. The inclusion of new Member States, with their acceptance of its rules and policies,
will improve  our  capacity  to  safeguard  Europe’s  environment,  to  combat  crime,  to  improve
social conditions, and to manage migratory pressures.

An enlargement project of the present scale requires a communication strategy spread over a
number of  years to keep citizens of the Union and the candidate countries informed,  ensure
their  participation  in  the  process  and  win  their  support.  Only  genuine  participation  can
achieve this.  This is  an  important  task  for  all  governments  in  Member  States  and  candidate
countries, to which the Commission is ready to contribute.

As the accession negotiations now move towards a conclusion, the need to better explain the
issues, both to the general public, and to an influential and increasingly active community of
stakeholders becomes even more important. During the period of ratification, public opinion
will play a key role: referenda are likely to take place in most candidate countries. Parliaments
will be directly involved, beginning with the European Parliament which will be asked to give

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its assent. This ratification debate needs to take place on the basis of a full and well-informed
discussion, in which the full participation of citizens and stakeholders is essential.

In order to respond to this changing environment and to be better prepared for the challenges
to come, the Commission’s communication strategy on enlargement is now moving to a new
phase of activity. This report briefly outlines what has been achieved so far, and indicates the
direction of the strategy in the future,  while concluding  that further  co-operation  among the
Union’s institutions in the joint endeavour of explaining Europe’s enlargement is required.

The  Commission  presents  this  report  in  response  to  the  request  of  the  Council  (General
Affairs) of 10 December 2001.

2. 

BACKGROUND

The Commission, for its part, established its communication strategy for enlargement in May
2000.  It  delivered  to  the  Inter-Institutional  Group  on  Information  in  February  2002  a
document  entitled  “Explaining  Enlargement”  that  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the
implementation of the strategy so far1.

The Commission announced the objectives of its communication strategy in May 2000. The
Commission 's communication strategy consists, in both current and future Member States, in
explaining the process of enlargement of the EU and the advantages citizens can expect.

Responsibility  for  implementation  lies  largely  with  the  Representations  and  Delegations  of
the Commission in the countries concerned, but  DG Enlargement in Brussels co-ordinates the
implementation  of  the  strategy,  manages  the  central  web  site  on  the  Europa  Server2,  and
produces information products for use in the communication strategy.

After the successful launch of the euro, the activities of the Commission’s representations in
Member  States  are  increasingly  focusing  on  enlargement,  explaining  the  process  and  its
implications, and providing information on the future Member States. The strategy generally
followed by Commission representations has in a first stage been to work through informed or
influential  bodies,  to  respond  to  fears  or  concerns  expressed  in  particular  segments  of  the
population, and is moving, in a later stage, to address more directly the general public.

Often  working  in  co-operation  with  the  European  Parliament,  representations  carry  out
projects in partnership with information networks and relays, such as the Carrefours ruraux,
the  Info-Points  Europe  and  the  large  information  centres  jointly  run  by  the  national
governments and the Commission.

Other partners include civil society organisations, and, increasingly, national, regional or local
authorities.  Such  co-operation  has  on  some  occasions  taken  place  via  the  conclusion  of  a
“Convention”  with  the  authorities  of  the  Member  State  concerned.  Conventions,  which
identify actions to be undertaken and the budgets to be assigned have so far been signed with
Austria, France,  Luxembourg,  the  Netherlands,  and  the  German  State  of  Niedersachsen  and
the German Federal Agency for Political Education.

1

2

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/communication/index.htm

See http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/index.htm

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Activities  so  far  carried  out  include  research  projects,  public  debates,  seminars  and
conferences involving specific groups such  as people living  in  regions bordering the further
Member  States,  NGOs,  young  people,  business,  farmers,  trade  unions,  etc.  Many  brochures
have been produced, both of a general character for wide public distribution, or more specific
in content, including,  for  example,  a  media pack  for journalists.  There  have  been  numerous
media  projects,  including  information  and  training  of  journalists,  study  visits  to  candidate
countries, and so  on. Research has  shown the importance  of working more closely  with  the
media, as the source from which most people receive their information, and, in particular with
television.

In  the  candidate  countries,  the  work  of  the  Delegations  has  moved  from  the  provision  of
general  information  explaining  the  Union  to  a  more  sophisticated  task  of  explaining  the
general implications of accession, and its specific implications to particular groups interested
in certain aspects of the enlargement process. The Delegations now draw on much the same
infrastructure  for  the  implementation  of  the  strategy  as  the  Representations,  relying  on  a
network based around European Union Information Centres (EUICs), which are established in
all capitals of the central European  candidate  countries. These centres receive an average of
around  10.000  visitors  per  year  and  co-operate  with  a  wide  network  of  affiliated  bodies  to
serve audiences in the regions.

Web  sites  developed  by  all  Delegations  are  usually  among  the  most  visited  sites  in  the
country, receiving up to 30.000 visits per month. As a means of reaching more people across
the  country,  the  group  of  public  speakers,  “Team  Europe”,  is  being  gradually  expanded  to
address schools, local associations and other audiences around the country.

Written material produced by Delegations includes specific brochures, such as “Your business
and  the  Euro”,  fact  sheets  (“Explaining  the  Sapard  programme”…“Free  movement  of
persons”…) as well as entertaining and user-friendly leaflets. Newsletters of different formats
are sent, often by e-mail to interested readers, providing a regular update of developments in
the enlargement process, but also of EU policies in general.

Projects  are  managed  in  co-operation  with  specific  groups,  including  the  Church  (for
example, in Poland and Lithuania)  farmers,  trade  unionists  (Hungary…),  the  elderly,  young
people (the Delegation in Latvia for example published teaching materials for schools). Well-
attended cultural events include EU Film Festivals (e.g. in the Czech Republic and Romania).
Think tanks offer partners for seminars (European Institute of Cyprus, Malta- EU Information
Centre…),  and  information  relays  are  often  established  in  existing  networks  (chambers  of
commerce, libraries, etc.)

The state of public opinion

The development of public opinion over the past few years has had a direct impact on the way
in  which  the  Commission  manages  its  communication  strategies.  The  following  main
observations can be made:

(cid:1)  In  the  Central  European  candidate  countries,  the  general  post-1989  enthusiasm  about
membership of the EU has been succeeded by a narrowing of the margin between those in
favour and those against membership. There is often also a significant minority expressing
themselves  as  “undecided”.  The  issue  of  accession  occupies  a  position  that  is  never  far
from  the  centre  of  the  political  debate,  and  is,  therefore  subject  to  the  normal  swings  in
opinion experienced by political issues of consequence

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(cid:1)  The  greatest  cause  of  movement  in  the  opinion  polls  in  the  candidate  countries  is
developments  in  the  accession  negotiations,  where  perception  of  being  put  at  a
disadvantage in the negotiations has led to drops in support for membership in a number of
occasions by up to 10 points

(cid:1)  In  the  Member  States,  the  level  of  knowledge  both  about  enlargement  as  a  process  and,
more  so,  about  the  future  Member  States  themselves  is  not  yet  sufficient.  Citizens  in
Member States that border on the candidate countries are more likely to harbour concerns
about  the  implications  of  enlargement.  Citizens  in  general  are  less  concerned  about
enlargement  itself  than  about  concrete  issues,  such  as  unemployment,  crime,  and  the
environment. Many link fears and concerns in these areas to enlargement.

(cid:1)  Despite  the  amount  of  information  available  many  people  in  both  present  and  future
Member States still feel not well informed. This suggests that the targeting of information
can be improved.

3. 

LESSONS LEARNED

As  the  accession  negotiations  come  to  their  expected  close  at  the  end  of  2002,  most  of  the
countries  covered  by  the  communication  strategy  will  move  into  the  ratification  phase.  The
specific challenges for the communication strategy in this phase are the following:

In Member States, it  is important to increase the  awareness and knowledge  of  the  countries
that will soon be joining the Union. More needs to be done to explain the results of the whole
enlargement  process,  including  the  success  of  13  years  of  the  Phare  programme  and  the
positive  experience  of  the  new  pre-accession  instruments,  Ispa  and  Sapard,  and  to
demonstrate  the enormous progress that has been  made  in economic  and  political  reform  in
the  region  since  1989;  this  will  help  to  dispel  general  fears  as  to  the  preparedness  of  the
candidates to join the Union.

In candidate countries and in Member States, efforts should focus on informing citizens about
the  ongoing  and  complex  process,  which  is  perceived  in  a  different  way    in  each  country.
Therefore, the Commission has  adopted,  and  will  continue  to  follow  a  largely  decentralised
approach, that  responds to the specific concerns of citizens in the different countries.

4. 

1.

THE ROAD AHEAD – PARTNERSHIP FOR A SUCCESSFUL ENLARGEMENT

Co-operation with governments:

(cid:1)  The  major  role  in  explaining  enlargement  to  citizens  in  candidate  countries,  as  in  the
Member  States,  should  come  from  the  national  government.  The  Commission's
contribution  will  be  to  stimulate  or  develop  partnerships  in  order  to  include  sufficient
objective information in the public debate.

(cid:1)  Informing the population of the Member States about individual candidate countries is in
the first place the responsibility of the governments of the respective countries. This is an
area where more needs to be done.

(cid:1)  Member States (current and future), Commission and Parliament should co-operate in the
framework of the new general communication strategy of the Union that is currently being
prepared. Complementarity of our approaches in current and future Member States, and co-

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operation  at  all  appropriate  levels,  is  essential.  The  Commission  can  add  value  to  this
strategy given its unique role in the pre-accession preparations.

(cid:1)  It  is  important  to  foster  co-operation  among  the  candidate  countries.  While  this  already
takes  place  among  the  Commission  Delegations  and  their  information  staff,  the
Commission will seek to promote greater exchange of knowledge among those involved in
the communication strategy on enlargement in the candidate countries.

2.

Co-operation with civil society:

(cid:1)  A  successful  communication  strategy  involves  not  only  communication  from  the
Commission and Member States, but an open discussion involving all levels of society. It
will  therefore  be  important  to  develop  or  support  networks  of  NGOs  and  other  parts  of
civil  society,  within  and  between  countries.  For  this  purpose  more  work  is  needed,  in
particular with key target groups such as the media.

3.

A demonstrated commitment to clarity and openness:

(cid:1)  Publication  of  information  on  the  accession  negotiations,  the  pre-accession  strategy,  and
the  candidate  countries,  on  the  Internet  will  be  enhanced  by  the  Commission  in  order  to
stimulate the debate. This reflects its commitment to conduct the enlargement process in a
transparent way.

4.

A continuous commitment to information:

(cid:1)  The overwhelming conclusion of the large number of studies which have been published at
European  and  national  level  is  that,  if  conducted  well,  enlargement  will  bring  major
benefits  both  to  the  existing  Union  and  to  the  acceding  countries.  Enlargement  is  a
positive-sum  process,  in  which  the  advantages  far  outweigh  the  costs.  The  Commission
considers  that  a  comprehensive  survey  should  be  made  of  these  analyses,  so  that  their
results can be made more widely available to Europe’s citizens.

(cid:1)  It  will  be  important  to  maintain  a  commitment  to  continued  communication  after

accession, in order to ensure a smooth transition to the enlarged Union

5.

Referenda in candidate countries:

(cid:1)  Referenda  will  take  place  in  all  or  most  of  the  candidate  countries.  As  the  accession
negotiations  proceed,  it  will  become  easier  to  identify  the  issues  on  which  the  campaign
may  need  to  focus  during  a  referendum,  such  as  questions  of  sovereignty,  national  and
cultural  identity  or  financial  and  agricultural  issues.  Therefore,  the  strategy  needs  to  be
flexible enough to take such differences into account.

5. 

CONCLUSION

Although the communication strategy for enlargement should remain largely decentralised, so
as to address the specific concerns of each country, a basic message is needed from the Union
as  a  whole,  including  the  institutions,  Member  States  and  regions.  This  is  of  the  utmost
importance to convince citizens.

The  clear  message,  which  should  be  given  by  all  actors  responsible  for  the  success  of  the
process,  is  that  enlargement  is  a  win-win  game,  in  which  the  re-unification  of  Europe  will
extend the area of peace, prosperity and security throughout the continent.

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The Commission recommends the Council to give a strong endorsement to this message about
the benefits of enlargement for the Union, and a signal that  a successful  enlargement of the
European  Union 
implement  a  comprehensive
communication  strategy,  with  current  and  future  Member  States,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the
European Institutions on the other.

requires  concerted  co-operation 

to 

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ANNEX

EUROBAROMETER 56

SUPPORT FOR ENLARGEMENT

3

 IN PERCENT IN EU MEMBER STATES

(IN BRACKETS: CHANGE SINCE EB 55, SPRING 2001)

FOR

AGAINST

DON’T KNOW

49 (+ 5)

69 (+ 19)

47 (+ 12)

47 (+ 12)

47 (+ 11)

74 (+ 4)

61 (+ 6)

39 (+ 4)

60 (+ 1)

61 (+ 10)

53 (+ 10)

58 (+ 16)

46 (+ 13)

57 (+ 5)

54 (+ 9)

69 (+ 19)

41 (+ 6)

51 (+ 8)

39 (=)

24 (-16)

35 (-7)

35 (-6)

34 (-11)

14 (-4)

18 (+1)

46 (-1)

17 (-1)

19 (-3)

37 (-5)

27 (-14)

38 (-11)

22 (-3)

32 (-9)

21 (-16)

33 (-1)

30 (-5)

12 (-5)

7 (-3)

19 (-4)

19 (-5)

19 (-1)

12 (-1)

21 (-6)

15 (-3)

24 (=)

21 (-6)

11 (-5)

15 (-2)

16 (-2)

22 (-1)

13 (-1)

10 (-3)

25 (-6)

19 (-4)

MEMBER
STATE

B

DK

D

D (West)

D (Neue
Laender)

GR

E

F

IRL

I

L

NL

A

P

FIN

S

UK

EU average

3

Fieldwork realised in October-November 2001, Publication April 2002;
Question:  “What is  your opinion on  each  of  the  following  statement?  Please  tell  me  for  each
proposal,  whether  you  are  for  it  or  against  it.  «The  enlargement  of  the  European  Union  to
include new countries”.

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APPLICANT COUNTRIES EUROBAROMETER (AUTUMN 2001)

VOTING INTENTIONS REGARDING EU4

COUNTRY

FOR

AGAINST

WOULD NOT VOTE DON’T KNOW /

NO ANSWER

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Rep.

Estonia

Hungary

Latvia

Lithuania

Malta

Poland

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Turkey

AC Average

80

63

54

39

71

47

51

40

55

84

65

56

68

66

4

23

17

25

10

31

19

35

26

2

11

22

21

18

6

2

14

21

13

9

14

11

10

7

14

9

4

8

9

11

15

15

7

12

15

14

9

7

9

13

8

9

4

Fieldwork realised in October 2001, report published in March 2002 (figures may have evolved
slightly since than)
Question:  “If  there  were  to  be  a  referendum  tomorrow  on  the  question  of  your  country’s
membership of the European Union, would you personally vote for or against it?”

9