The Swedish Government’s EU information services

The Swedish Government's EU information services¹:
Background:
At the request of the Swedish Parliament, the Swedish Government has for several years been vigorously promoting information concerning European integration work. In preparation for Sweden's membership negotiations, Parliament allocated in total 181 million Swedish kronor to an information campaign about the EEA Agreement, the EC and the EU over the two-year period 1992-1994. This allocation was used by the government for official information and by campaign organisations, political parties, adult educational associations and other non-governmental organisations for their information activities.

A special authority, the Delegation for Information on European Integration, was set up in July 1992 to allocate funds for information activities conducted by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and adult educational associations. At the same time a body for government information based on factual data was also set up. The Secretariat for Information on European Affairs was established as a new division within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, reporting directly to the Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade. The Secretariat was commissioned to provide objective, broad and comprehensive information about the EU. The information from the government was to be unbiased regarding Sweden's membership of the EC/EU.

Traditionally, public information has enjoyed considerable credibility in Sweden. The government and the local authorities devote extensive resources to informing citizens about planning issues, decisions and the provision of services. The assumption is that an effective democraticsociety needs to have well-informed citizens. The government was expected to provide basic information about matters pertinent to the referendum.

In 1996, responsibility for the basic general information about the EU was transferred from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to Parliament, which established the EU Information Centre of the Swedish Parliament.

Naturally, the task of providing information about the Government's EU policy and topical EU issues such as the Intergovernmental Conference and the treaties still rests with the Swedish Government.

In parallel with the activities of Parliament and the Government, a parliamentary committee was appointed in 1995-1996 to commission reports on the more important issues that might be discussed at the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference. The committee produced information booklets, commissioned experts to carry out inquiries into different matters and arranged seminars.

When the committee had completed its work, the Government took over responsibility for information about the Intergovernmental Conference. The focus has been on these activities for the past eighteen months.

Aim of the activities:
The objective of the Swedish Government's information activities is to increase knowledge about the meaning of European co-operation, about issues of topical interest and about the Swedish Government's approach to these issues. The aim is also to arouse interest and to contribute to a wider discussion about the EU in society. The information activities lend an important aspect of openness to Sweden's EU work. There is a tradition of objective information on social issues in Sweden and it is the Swedish general public's self-evident right to have easy access to information about the Government's work. It is of the utmost importance for its credibility that the information produced is as impartial as possible. The annual budget for the Government's information activities is at present 7.8 million Swedish kronor (€ 903,800).

Swedish public opinion:
In the Swedish referendum on the EU on 13 November 1994, over 52% voted 'yes' to membership of the Union and more than 46% voted 'no'. Support for membership has subsequently declined. A survey at the turn of the year 1997/98 showed that 61% of the Swedish people would vote 'no' to Swedish membership of the EU if a referendum had been held at that time.

Women are more negative about membership than men and younger people tend to be more critical than middleaged and elderly people. Those who are negative to the EU are mainly to be found among people with little schooling and it is above all in the sparsely populated areas that people are critical of the EU. According to the latest Eurobarometer the Swedes are the nation with the second most negative attitude to EMU in the EU.

Information strategy:
Target group and distribution to it

The target group for information activities is the Swedish general public. In order to make the information readily available, the Government has built up a broad network of centres for further dissemination of the material to more and more people. A total of about 25,000 addresses are reached through the network.

The centres for further dissemination of the material include, inter alia, the municipal libraries, the media, universities, schools, educational associations, societies, non-governmental organisations and businesses. Sweden has an advanced library system with over 300 municipal libraries, which together have over 1,100 branch libraries. This means that library visitors throughout the country can obtain at their local library their own copies of the information material produced by the Government.

Advertising

In order to reach more people, new material is advertised on a continuous basis in the national daily press. However, this continuous advertising takes place on a relatively limited scale. Private individuals may also subscribe to the material which is produced free of charge. The number of subscribers has steadily increased.

Co-operation with other parties

The Government consults other institutions engaged in EU information and also carries out some informational projects in co-operation with others. These include the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EU Information Centre of the Swedish Parliament.

Information material

The main focus of the informational activities is on written material. The starting point is that all material produced shall be free of charge. Those wishing to do so may put their names down for a free subscription to this material. Cassette recordings are made for people who are visually handicapped who may also subscribe to the material recorded.

The publications issued on a continual basis include a monthly newsletter about the Government's EU policy and present work on the Amsterdam Treaty. The newsletter is issued in batches of 45,000. As long as the Intergovernmental Conference was in progress, the newsletter was published every other week, reporting on the negotiations. The general public was given an opportunity to ask questions about the Intergovernmental Conference and obtain answers from Sweden's Chief Negotiator.

Popular versions of Government communications are also produced and there is a monthly publication about the new EU proposals from the EU Commission.

To the extent it is considered important material is produced which is directed at those who are engaged in EU matters. As an example, a publication may be mentioned describing how the Commission's committee system works.

Internet

The use of the Internet in Sweden is steadily increasing and it is an important additional information channel. The Government has a website, where government bills, official reports, newsletters and other publications from the Ministries are available. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs also has a web site in different languages (see, for example, http://www.ud.se/english/policy/eu.htm). Naturally, all the material on the European Union is available on the Internet.

Seminars and press activities

Seminars are also arranged for the purpose of illustrating some specific issues and to stimulate discussion about them. Several such seminars were arranged during the course of the Intergovernmental Conference. These seminars are always open to the public and they are advertised in the daily press. People representing different viewpoints are invited to participate and listeners are given the opportunity to put questions to them.

The seminars are to a certain extent arranged in co-operation with others, such as the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Politicians and officials also take part to a relatively large extent in seminars arranged by other bodies such as universities, political associations, libraries etc.

The media receives information continuously through press briefings, both in Stockholm and Brussels. The Government also takes an active part in EU debates in the media.

Promoting 'I am Curious EU':
The Government in conjunction with the Swedish Parliament undertook a major information promotion at the time of the signing of the Amsterdam Treaty. It aimed to stimulate increased interest, comment and debate prior to the Swedish Parliament's forthcoming decision concerning the new treaty.

Brief documentary films for television were produced in collaboration with Vilgot Sjöman, the well-known film director (who produced I am Curious Yellowand I am Curious Blue in the 1960s and 70s) and were shown on commercial television. People who were curious were invited to put questions to the Swedish Parliament whose special EU telephone panel provided the general public with answers about the EU. In addition, a brochure summarising the Amsterdam Treaty, was published. Nationwide advertising in the daily and evening press was also carried out. Furthermore, a special website was set up on which the documentary films, the brochure as well as the Amsterdam Treaty in Swedish were made available.

This promotion scheme resulted in greater public knowledge about the Intergovernmental Conference and the Amsterdam Treaty. The number of questions put to the EU telephone panel increased noticeably in the weeks following the promotion, and media debate about the new treaty also increased. Vilgot Sjöman's film gave the project itself a very large press coverage.

'I am Curious EU' was the first large information promotion about the EU that the Government undertook after Sweden became a member. It was also the first time that such extensive marketing had been embarked upon. Today it is essential in order to reach the entire population.

The information promotion was called into question by the parliamentary parties and organisations which opposed EU membership. After this, the 'No' movement has applied for an annual grant to be used to provide information about the EU from their point of view. No such grant will be given for this purpose. On the other hand, the Swedish Government will soon give NGOs and other organisations an opportunity to apply for grants for information activities in order to raise the level of knowledge about the EU.

Continued activities:
There is relatively broad interest in information about the EU. The Swedes demand reliable civic information on topical subjects. Therefore, information work must be continuously developed. The distribution of material is essential and the network of centres which further disseminate information will be offered greater support, mainly through further training/seminars/courses. Local support and easy access is vital for the credibility of this information work. To make the information really interesting and to reach its target, the large target group - the general public - needs to be subdivided into smaller groups. For example, more material is being produced that is specially adapted to the needs and interests of young people. Greater use is also to be made of modern technology.

The Swedish Government's experience of information activities on the EU prior to its referendum has also proved to be of great interest to the candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Swedish experts take part in seminars on EU information for these countries. For example, a major seminar on EU information was held in Stockholm between 26 and 27 March 1998 in conjunction with TAIEX (Technical Assistance Information Exchange Office). The Government foresees growing interest and a need for further support in this area.

New projects

A summary of projects currently under way in Sweden are as follows.

- A ten-minute 'I am Curious EU' film is under production for use in upper secondary schools, accompanied by material to stimulate discussion. The aim is to arouse interest in EU issues and start a debate in the classroom.

- An EU calendar which provides information mainly about Council meetings and the Swedish approach will be available on the Internet. There is a particular demand for the calendar information from the provincial press.

- The production of information about EMU and technical information on the way in which the introduction of the EURO will influence small and medium-sized businesses and consumers in Sweden, is to be ready by Autumn 1998.

- Several seminars on enlargement and Agenda 2000, inter alia, some produced in co-operation with the EU Commission and European Parliament.

- A series of booklets dealing with specific issues and the Swedish Government's views on them.

Notes:
^1. The text has been supplied by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm, Sweden. It is arevised version of a paper made available at a special seminar on EU information hosted by the UK Presidency and the European Commission in Brussels on 27 March 1998.