EU information review of the year 2010 Ian Thomson Director, Cardiff EDC Cardiff University.

EU information review of the year 2010

Ian ThomsonDirector, Cardiff EDC

Cardiff University

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European information review of the year 2010© Ian Thomson, Director, Cardiff EDC

• This powerpoint presentation provides details of the main

developments in EU information and communication issues in 2010

• For more information click on the hyperlinks• (many hyperlinks are embedded in images)



Key themes

• New Institutions, new faces

• Making the EU moretransparent

• Connecting with Citizens

• New media

EU information reviewof the year 2010


New InstitutionsNew faces

• European Council– A formal EU Institution– President of the European Council– New website

• European External Action Service– Independent of Commission & Council– High Representative of the Union for

Foreign Affairs and Security Policy– New website

New InstitutionsNew faces


EU information and communication policy:The situation in 2010…

European Commission: change of personnel

Goodbye to Margot Wallström & Siim Kallas

Welcome toViviane Reding

DG Communication & Publications Office

Maroš Šefčovič I-IR & Administration (ETI)


EU information and communication policy:The situation in 2010…

Commission plans communication revolutionEURACTIV, 30.08.10

Mrs Reding wants to bring about a ‘revolution’ and ‘culture shock’ in communication activities

• the Commission should be rebranded as the ‘government’ of the EU• greater personalisation centred on Mr Barroso• more centralisation in the delivery of messages• reshuffle of top officials in information & communication activities• greater professionalism

However, commentators are very criticalCommunicating Europe: Reding’s revolution

Blog: Grahnlaw, 02.09.10


Key recommendations of European Parliament Resolution adopted on the 7 September 2010 on Communication

• Role for public service broadcasters and transnational media

• National governments and political parties should play a greater role in promoting EU

• Huge potential of social media

• Need to update school curricula

• Improve EU institutional communication

Click on the image to read the full text or find

further information


Public Opinion and Europe:Elections, Referendums and Surveys


European Commission says:EU citizens favour stronger European economic governance75% of Europeans think that stronger coordination of economic and financial policies among EU Member States would be effective in fighting the economic crisis

EurActiv report says:Europeans losing faith in EuropeJust 42% of Europeans say they trust the European Union … down six percentage points in just six months

EUObserver report says:EU popularity plunges right across the blocPeople's confidence in the the European Union has dropped to record lows

Public Opinion and Europe:Elections, Referendums and Surveys


With the evidence of • low participation rates in the EP elections• the referendum results in Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Ireland• declining support for the EU in Eurobarometer opinion polls

Communicating Europe effectively has become an issue of major concern to the EU Institutions

• a need to professionalise the way information is communicated• a need to involve the Member States as well as other actors• a need to use new media to get information and messages across

However, the question still arises… Will more effective communication make citizens ‘love’ the EU or are the challenges greater or more complex?

Public Opinion and Europe:The challenge…


Making the EU more transparentETI / Access to documents

3411 signed up [6.1.11]ETI will stay voluntaryShould Think Tanks join?Oct 2010: Transparency register to replace ‘Lobby register’

Proposal to amend Regulation1049/2001 still being negotiated

European Parliament Resolution adopted 25 November 2010: Considers that transparency, access to information and respect for the right to good administration are vital preconditions for maintaining citizens‘ confidence in the institutions’ ability to assert their rights

Making the EU more transparentETI / Access to documents

ECJ Judgement in Nov 2010: A blow for transparency

BrusselsLeaks


Interactive Communication:Participatory democracy initiatives

NB: European Citizens’ Initiative


Key themes

• The increasing role of new media– Digitisation– Web-streaming / radio and tv– Blogging– Social networks

• Twitter / Facebook etc

• The role of Google

New media in EU informationTaking advantage of Google and Web 2.0


The increasing role of new mediaDigitisation / Radio and television

Publications Office Digital Library Project (PODL): Electronic

availability of all EU publications through EU Bookshop /

EU documents through EUR-LEX

EU supports Europeana: digitisation of Europe’s cultural heritage

The increasing role of new mediaDigitisation

Increasingly, information is only published electronically

Press Release IP/11/17Digital Agenda: ‘Comité des Sages’ calls for a

‘New Renaissance’ by bringing Europe's cultural heritage online


The increasing role of new mediaDigitisation / Radio and television

2,810,000 documents on EUR-LEX12,000 documents added each year

23 official languages250,000,000 pages consulted

[2009 figures]

Looking forward:A new version of EUR-Lex for 2012

• Simple & Advanced search functions will be complemented by a ‘google-like’ search function• Pre-Lex will be more fully integrated into the database• An optimised integration of the EUROVOC thesaurus will introduce new and simple search facilities• TRANS-JAI, monitoring the inter-institutional procedures in the area of Freedom, Security and Justice, will be better integrated into EUR-Lex• Publication of a legally binding internet version of the Official Journal• Integration of semantic web elements in the new site’s functionalities


The increasing role of new mediaUse by the European Commission

Photo / Audio / Video sourceson European Commissioners

European Commission uses video tocommunicate with the general public

and with stakeholders

European Commission commissions a large number of videos on key

policy areas for use by professionals

European Commission encouragesawareness of its new media

resources

The increasing use of new mediaUse by the European Commission


TV – Web-streaming for EU informationEU sources


TV – Web-streaming for EU informationNon-EU sources


European Public SphereDeveloping a pan-European debate through

newspapers, radio and television1. EUFeeds

2. European non-English language newspapers’ initiative3. PressEurop

1. Euranet2. A TV network?

Radio – TV – Newspapers for EU information


The increasing role of new media Web 2.0: Blogs

EU officials compile blogs on information & communication issues

Blogs for EU information


Blogs for EU information

Blog Aggregators bring together a selection of Europe focused blogs

A sample of blogs offering a range of insights on Europe


Increasing Increasing use of social networksof sociaIncreasing usIncreasing use of social networks


The increasing role of new media Web 2.0: Twitter

Tweet Aggregators: attempts tobring together EU tweets

Who are the key players in the EU-twittersphere?

TweetLevel evaluates tweets

Many EU Institutions, officials, MEPs,Stakeholders and news sources are

using Twitter – although somequestion its value

The increasing role of new mediaWeb 2.0: Twitter


The increasing role of new media Web 2.0: Facebook

Facebook is also being used by the European Union Institutions

(and by other European stakeholders)

The increasing role of new mediaWeb 2.0: Facebook

Is the EU focusingtoo much on social media?


The role of Google

Google Translate now machine translates all 23 official EU languages

Google Public Data ExplorerUnemployment / Minimum wage / Inflation

Searching EUROPA through Google

Google in Europe


The role of Google

Increasing ‘interest’ in the EU and Member States in Google activities…

Digitisation issuesCompetition issues

Data protection issues

Google in Europe


The role of Google

Some examples of Google in Europe in 2010 •January 2010: French government review of digitisation aims to promote a French/European solution• January 2010: Google formally submits its views to the Commission on its EU2020 consultation• February 2010: Commission announces a preliminary investigation into complaints against Google’s Search engine advertising service• March 2010: Google and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage reach agreement to digitise works from Italian libraries• June 2010: Google to give European regulators rogue data as it admits WiFi privacy blunder• November 2010: Google and Hachette sign agreement to make out-of-print French books available• December 2010: European Commission launches Google probe• December 2010: Autorité de la Concurrence in France says that Google has a dominant position in online search advertising• December 2010: 13 European universities given grants from Google as part of the Digital Humanities Research Awards

Google in Europe


The role of Google

Google have their own blog dealing with their relations with the EU

and other European public policy issues

Love it or hate it …Google is important in the world of

European information

Google in Europe


European media initiativesTraining and Services for Media Professionals



For further information please contact

Ian [email protected]

EU information review of the year 2010 Ian Thomson Director, Cardiff EDC Cardiff University.

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Transcript of EU information review of the year 2010 Ian Thomson Director, Cardiff EDC Cardiff University.