Citizens First hiccup

Date: 05/12/1996

It was a case of Citizens First, guests second when the Commission sent out invitations to the launch of its new single market awareness campaign the other day.

Many non-governmental organisations were surprised to receive faxes just a day before the great event, one of the most ambitious promotion jobs in Commission history, was due to be given a fanfare inauguration. Because of unexpected delays, said the faxes, people who had been invited to the launch had, in fact, not been invited at all.

The faxees were thus urged to get in touch with the Commission to confirm that they were attending a ceremony they had thought they were not invited to. Just in case the entire event had passed people by, the Commission reminded everyone that Citizens First was aimed at bringing the EU closer to the citizen - in just the same way that the fax was bringing President Jacques Santer's audience closer to the event they all so nearly missed.