European Parliament Socialist Group fonds - European University ...

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The Strasbourg briefings also provide an opportunity to give
journalists summaries ot outlines of statements by the Group's
spokesmen in the various debates.
However, the very success of these briefings raises a number
of problems which the working party has studied critically and on
which it would like to put forward the following ideas and
proposals:
The briefings are not, strictly speaking, press conferences.
Press conferences may still be organized on specific subjects
during the part-sessions.
Still less are these briefings to be
regarded as meetings. The number of group members who speak at
them should therefore be kept to an absolute minimum.
Normally I chair the briefings, which are conducted by the
members of the working Party on Press Affairs, who agree in advance
on who should speak on which subject in order to achieve the
greatest impact.
The Chairman of the Group can. of course, attend
briefings and speak whenever he wishes, either to explain a
particular problem or to answer journalists' questions.
only the person responsible for the main subject{s)
Otherwise.
debated at
part-sessions may speak in order to outline briefly the Group's
position on the sUbject(s) in question.
It is essential to leave matters there and avoid any other
re?etitious statenents which would annoy journalists and
prolong the briefing, which, if it is to be wholly effective,
should last no more than 30 to 35 minutes. After this length of
time journalists begin to leave to attend other meetings or to meet
the deadlines for filing their despatches or articles, and the
briefing ends in disarray.
The working Party on Press Affairs has reached these
conclusions on the basis of the experiences of the past few months.