Getting the message across

Date: 19/10/1995

The efforts now being made by the EU's institutions to improve communications with the public are long overdue, but no less welcome for that.

For too long, both the European Commission and the Parliament have complained vigorously that they are badly misunderstood by the public at large and that current disillusionment with the Union stems largely from misleading reports of their activities.

That may be so, but much of the blame for the EU's poor image lies at their own door. Conflicting messages from the Council of Ministers, Commission and Parliament have sown confusion in people's minds and the tendency for governments to blame the other two sides of the EU's policy-making triangle for unpopular decisions have provided anti-European factions across the Union with plenty of ammunition.

It is not surprising that the EU's institutions have different agendas and identities and it is legitimate that these are pursued. Those who argue that the Union must always speak with one voice ignore political reality and the complex nature of the relations between its core bodies.

But in the current climate, the central message coming from each must focus on what the Union as a whole can offer to those it exists to serve and whose support is vital to its survival and success.

That message must be clear and unambiguous. The Commission's choice of citizens' rights as one of the three areas where information policy must be sharpened in the coming months reflects a growing acknowledgement of past failures.

A case in point is the single market, where the emphasis has all too often been on the benefits of a frontier-free Europe for business rather than on the opportunities it opens up for individuals.

That is why Internal Market Commissioner Mario Monti's campaign to explain these rights and how people can ensure they are respected, as well as clamping down on member states who ignore their obligations, is so essential.

The Commissioner himself declares that he is “determined to ensure that the single market is a reality for people”. Now it's up to him to prove the campaign he is about to embark on can achieve just that.