Boost for information strategy

Date: 23/01/1997

THE European Commission is overhauling its public information system in a move which could eventually see the creation of a single communication centre for the major EU institutions.

The initiative is being led by the Information Commissioner Marcelino Oreja, who is determined to give a higher political priority to the institution's efforts to communicate with audiences in the 15 member states.

He has already won his colleagues' support for a reorganisation of the Commission's Directorate-General for information (DGX) and is now preparing to sharpen up the activities of the institution's various information offices across the Union.

“This is not a revolution, but reflects a common- sense approach to improve management and answer the demands of the EU's citizens. The idea is that the reform could be the first step towards an interinstitutional information centre. It is not for today, but it would present a more coherent image of the Union,” explained one senior official.

Critics of the current arrangements complain that the Commission's offices in each member state have tended to act more like embassies, concentrating on political issues rather than providing a regular diet of information about the Union's activities.

“They need to be more active and dynamic and closer to the citizen by using modern technology, cooperating with the countries in which they are based and establishing contacts with schools, national, regional and local media, foundations and civil society in general, while remaining in close contact with Brussels. They need to be information offices, not embassies,” explained one source.

But defenders of the representations' record insist that they are already plugged into a series of national networks such as local authorities and public libraries and provide decentralised information taking account of national sensitivities and cultural differences.

They also point to other initiatives which have raised the EU's information profile on the ground. In Paris and Lisbon, the Commission collaborates with the countries' foreign ministries on joint information ventures, while in Germany it has moved its offices from the edge of Bonn into the heart of the city.

The new strategy involves close cooperation with the European Parliament's own information services. The two institutions already share premises in several member states. Ultimately they will be housed under the same roof in all 15 countries and many MEPs want to go further by examining the idea of a unified information centre for the Union.

Much of the responsibility for implementing the DGX reforms will now rest with its newly appointed Director-General Spyros Pappas.