EU information review of the year 2010

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

2. 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)

3. EU information review of the year 2010 EU information review of the year 2010 Key themes • New Institutions, new faces • Making the EU moretransparent • Connecting with Citizens • New media

4. New Institutions New faces 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 forForeign Affairs and Security Policy • New website

5. EU information and communication policy: The situation in 2010… European Commission: change of personnel Goodbye to Margot Wallström & SiimKallas Welcome to Viviane Reding DG Communication & Publications Office MarošŠefčovič I-IR & Administration (ETI)

6. 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 critical Communicating Europe: Reding’s revolution Blog: Grahnlaw, 02.09.10

7. 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

8. Public Opinion and Europe: Elections, Referendums and Surveys

9. Public Opinion and Europe: Elections, Referendums and Surveys

10. Public Opinion and Europe: Elections, Referendums and Surveys European Commission says: EU citizens favour stronger European economic governance 75% 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 Europe Just 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 bloc People's confidence in the the European Union has dropped to record lows

11. Public Opinion and Europe: The challenge… • 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?

12. Making the EU more transparent ETI / Access to documents Making the EU more transparentETI / Access to documents 3411 signed up [6.1.11] ETI will stay voluntary Should Think Tanks join? Oct 2010: Transparency register to replace ‘Lobby register’ Proposal to amend Regulation 1049/2001 still being negotiated ECJ Judgement in Nov 2010: A blow for transparency 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 Brussels Leaks

13. Interactive Communication: Participatory democracy initiatives NB: European Citizens’ Initiative

14. New media in EU information Taking advantage of Google and Web 2.0 Key themes • The increasing role of new media • Digitisation • Web-streaming / radio and tv • Blogging • Social networks • Twitter / Facebook etc • The role of Google

15. The increasing role of new media Digitisation 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 Increasingly, information is only published electronically EU supports Europeana: digitisation of Europe’s cultural heritage Press Release IP/11/17 Digital Agenda: ‘Comité des Sages’ calls for a ‘New Renaissance’ by bringing Europe's cultural heritage online

16. The increasing role of new mediaDigitisation / Radio and television 2,810,000 documents on EUR-LEX 12,000 documents added each year 23 official languages 250,000,000 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

17. The increasing use of new media Use by the European Commission The increasing role of new mediaUse by the European Commission Photo / Audio / Video sources on European Commissioners European Commission uses video to communicate 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 encourages awareness of its new media resources

18. TV – Web-streaming for EU information EU sources

19. TV – Web-streaming for EU information Non-EU sources

20. Radio – TV – Newspapers for EU information • European Public Sphere • Developing a pan-European debate through • newspapers, radio and television • EUFeeds • European non-English language newspapers’ initiative • PressEurop • Euranet • A TV network?

21. Blogs for EU information The increasing role of new mediaWeb 2.0: Blogs EU officials compile blogs on information & communication issues

22. 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

23. Increasing use of social networks Increasing Increasing use of social networks of sociaIncreasing us

24. The increasing role of new media Web 2.0: Twitter The increasing role of new mediaWeb 2.0: Twitter Many EU Institutions, officials, MEPs, Stakeholders and news sources are using Twitter – although some question its value Tweet Aggregators: attempts to bring together EU tweets Who are the key players in the EU-twittersphere? TweetLevel evaluates tweets

25. The increasing role of new media Web 2.0: Facebook The increasing role of new mediaWeb 2.0: Facebook Facebook is also being used by the European Union Institutions (and by other European stakeholders) Is the EU focusing too much on social media?

26. Google in Europe The role of Google Searching EUROPA through Google Google Translate now machine translates all 23 official EU languages Google Public Data Explorer Unemployment / Minimum wage / Inflation

27. Google in Europe The role of Google Increasing ‘interest’ in the EU and Member States in Google activities… Digitisation issues Competition issues Data protection issues

28. 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

29. Google in Europe The role of Google Love it or hate it … Google is important in the world of European information Google have their own blog dealing with their relations with the EU and other European public policy issues

30. European media initiatives Training and Services for Media Professionals

31. EU information review of the year 2010For further information please contactIan ThomsonThomsoni@cardiff.ac.uk