WHITE PAPER

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WHITE PAPER

• NGO Eurohouse
• Europe Direct Kuressaare inforelay
• Tallinna 10A, 93813 Kuressaare
• Phone and fax [phone]
• E-mail info_at_eurohouse.ee

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What is a White Paper?

• Commission White Papers are documents containing
  proposals for EU action.
• The White Paper launches the consultation process
  as well as putting forward ideas for joint
  action by various key players.

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Why does the Commission think the EU needs a
communication policy?

• Surveys show that most European citizens know
  very little about the EU, and many feel they have
  no say in its decisions. Brussels seems
  remote from peoples daily lives.
• This gap between the people and the policy-makers
  is bad for democracy and for the EUs legitimacy.
  The gap has to be closed, and part of the
  solution is better communication not just by
  Brussels but by the national public authorities
  and other interested parties.

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Doesnt the EU already put a lot of effort into
communicating? (1)

• Till now, EU communication has consisted mainly
  of Brussels informing the media about new EU
  initiatives. This is a very limited type of
  communication essentially a monologue in which
  the EU institutions supply information and hope
  people will be interested.
• That is why the European Commission is now
  proposing a fundamentally new approach - a move
  away from monologue towards genuine dialogue
  between the institutions and the citizens.

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Doesnt the EU already put a lot of effort into
communicating? (2)

• The Commission wants the EU as a whole to pay
  much more attention to consulting people from all
  walks of life and making sure their views are fed
  through into the policy-making process.

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Isnt communication just another word for EU
propaganda?

• The kind of communication the European Commission
  is arguing for is a two-way flow of ideas and
  information between the people and the
  policy-makers, so that both understand each other
  as fully as possible.
• People need to know what the EU is doing and why.
  And they need to have their say in its decisions.

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What is the Commission itself doing to improve
communication with the public? (1)

• In July 2005, it agreed an Action Plan setting
  out 50 practical steps the Commission will take,
  within its own organisation, starting
  immediately.

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What is the Commission itself doing to improve
communication with the public? (2)

• For example
• Public consultations will be better publicised.
• Policy proposals will be drafted in clear
  language.
• There will be a laypersons summary of key
  proposals
• The Commission will take account of the needs of
  specific audiences and communicate more through
  regional and local media.

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What is the Commission itself doing to improve
communication with the public? (3)

• The Commission will also take steps to improve
  the Europa website and to produce clear and
  easy-to-read publications that have more of a
  local focus to make them more useful to the
  reader.

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Why should regional and local authorities
communicate Europe? (1)

• Europe is not just about decisions taken in
  Brussels it is also about how those decisions
  are implemented on the ground, locally.
• The local environment is part of the European
  environment. Local businesses are a part of the
  wider EU business community. Local transport
  projects are part of the wider European transport
  network.

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Miks peaksid piirkondlikud ja kohalikud
omavalitsused osalema ELi teabevahetuspoliitikas?
(2)

• So EU policies affect local activities and EU
  funding may well support them. Local people need
  to know about these things and who better to
  inform them than the local authority responsible?
  
• Communicating Europe is not just a matter of
  Brussels putting out information. It is a
  two-way flow of information and ideas between the
  citizens and public institutions at all levels.

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Whats the connection between this White Paper,
Plan D and the Action Plan? (1)

• Plan D for democracy, dialogue and debate is
  the Commissions contribution to the EUs current
  period of reflection. Its purpose is to involve
  EU citizens in a wide-ranging discussion on the
  European Union what it is for, where it is
  going and what it should be doing.

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Whats the connection between this White Paper,
Plan D and the Action Plan?(2)

• This White Paper has a more limited scope it is
  not asking for peoples views on the European
  Union itself but on the question of how we can
  set up better communication between citizens and
  the EU policy-makers.
• The White Paper is also about what can be done in
  the long term not just until the next EU treaty
  is drawn up, but for years and even decades
  ahead.

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Whats the connection between this White Paper,
Plan D and the Action Plan?(3)

• The White paper also has a much broader scope
  than the Commissions own Action Plan. The Action
  Plan concerns only what the Commission will do
  the White Paper, on the other hand, is about how
  government (at all levels) and civil society
  organisations in the Member States can join
  together in a communication partnership with the
  EU institutions.

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How can I get the Commission to answer my
questions? (1)

• There is already a very good answering service
  called Europe Direct, which you can contact by
  e-mailing europa.eu.int/europedirect or by
  phoning (free of charge) 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11
  from anywhere in the EU.
• The person answering your call will speak your
  language and will give you (or help you find) the
  answer to any question you may have about the EU.

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How can I get the Commission to answer my
questions? (2)

• The Commission intends to upgrade and improve
  this service over the next year or so. It also
  plans to develop new online forums in which
  specific issues can be discussed and your
  questions answered.
• You can also get in touch with any of the Europe
  Direct information centres ('information relays')
  located in almost all EU countries. To find out
  their contact details, go to http//europa.eu.int/
  comm/relays/ed_en.htm

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Working with the media

• What the Commission would like is a voluntary
  commitment by the media to supply the public with
  regular, full and fair coverage of EU affairs.
• The Commission, for its part, proposes to upgrade
  and improve the Europe by Satellite service that
  supplies video, sound and images to the media.

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What does the White Paper mean by upgrading the
Europe by Satellite service?

• Europe by Satellite is a service that helps TV
  and radio broadcasters to cover EU activities by
  transmitting via satellite and the Internet
  TV pictures of events. The pictures are
  accompanied by the original sound plus
  translations in up to 21 languages.
• Although EbS is greatly appreciated by
  journalists, they would like it to provide a
  greater variety and quantity of even
  better-quality material more stories, better
  balanced information and livelier pictures.

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Charter and code of conduct for EU communication

• The Commission is inviting all its potential
  partners (EU institutions, national, regional and
  local governments, non-governmental organisations
  and the media) to voluntarily commit themselves
  to respect certain jointly-agreed principles.
• The aim is to ensure that EU citizens receive a
  regular supply of factual information about
  European Union affairs, through a wide variety of
  channels, and to enable citizens to make their
  voices heard in the European debate regardless
  of who they are or what views they hold.

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The White Paper talks about a European public
sphere. What does that mean? (1)

• Put simply, the public sphere is the place
  where people learn about politics and political
  issues and where they exercise their political
  rights.
• Most people learn about these things at school or
  college and via the media. They discuss them
  mostly with their friends and colleagues, and
  they exercise their democratic rights by voting
  in elections and referendums.

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The White Paper talks about a European public
sphere. What does that mean? (2)

• The White Paper points out that most of the
  forums in which this happens are local, regional
  or national. In other words, there is a
  well-developed national public sphere in each
  country.
• What is lacking is a similarly well-developed
  European public sphere within which people can
  learn about and discuss European issues.

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How can I tell the Commission what I think about
the White Paper?

• Log on to the consultation website
  http//europa.eu.int/comm/communication_white_pape
  r and post your comments there.
• Alternatively, send us a letter. The postal
  address is
• EU Communication Policy White Paper Consultation
• European Commission
• Directorate General Communication
• B-1049 Brussels - Belgium