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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & REGIONAL STUDIES 2nd Year, No. 1 – 2009 Galati University Press, ISSN 2065 -1759 press and information departments organized in Brussels sponsored the first opinion polls trying to establish the attitudes towards Europe of the citizens of the founding states. Back then, the Commission was interested in developing contacts within two areas: first, the media, and second the so-called ‘return information’, which consisted of media monitoring and opinion surveys. In time, these units developed, they ‘grew up’ together with the Commission. The Single European Act (1986) marked an important stage in the evolution of the Commission’s role in relation with the other EU institutions in the sense that it strengthened its influence within the institutional game. The rise in the power of the Commission had as a direct consequence the creation of an efficient ‘communication machinery’, for opinion studies, media monitoring and campaigns targeted at the general public. In the second half of the 1980’s the Commission was the chief organizer or supporter of various events in the domain of sports (European Championships, European Sailing Championship etc.) and culture (the Brisbane Exhibition followed several years later by the Seville Exposition). In 1986, the Commission launched ‘specific campaigns’ and the years 1986, 1987, 1988 respectively were declared as European Year of Road Safety, Environment and the fight against Cancer. The EU communication actors began to develop more marketing-oriented strategies. (X) Thus in 1989, the Commissioner in charge of the Cultural and Audiovisual Affairs and of Information, gave the communication policy a new orientation by the Priority Information Program. Thus, the Direcorate General Information was able to establish ‘information and communication guidelines among the various units concerned’, resulting in a better ‘coherence of resources’ in important matters. The Commission also defined ‘the most important and the most appropriate Community issues’ and determined the use of resources ‘depending on the member states and the targets’ (European Commission, Priority Information Program 1989). The Commission’s interest in developing the relations with the media is proved by the numerous (almost one thousand) accredited journalists from all over the world, hosted by the Berlaymont Press Center, located in the headquarters of the Commission. The daily meetings of different representatives of the directorate-generals of the Commission with the journalists are referred to as ‘midday rendezvous’. It is also common practice that the Commission invites, at its cost, journalists from the member countries to inform them about the activities of the EU institutions. In each country there is an official representation of the Commission. The Commission has been publishing informative literature 133
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & REGIONAL STUDIES 2nd Year, No. 1 – 2009 Galati University Press, ISSN 2065 -1759 about the evolution and history of the European Union. The Commission’s various programs are also made accessible to the public by the concerted action of such institutional partners as the Europe Houses, Chambers of Commerce, Europe Information Centre and public libraries which represent its official relay. In 1999, it was designed a website especially for the European Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/. The concept of this website was renewed in 2003 in order to respond better to the need of information on the part of the Europeans citizens. The Europa website offers easy access to a significant amount of legislative texts, reports, programs, organizational charts, EU annual activity reports. The portal has also interactive systems which offer the Europeans the possibility to directly contact the EU institutions in order to ask questions (the Euro Direct Telephone and electronic contact centre). The Maastricht Treaty (1992) which was not ratified immediately by the member states (Denmark adopted only at a later date, while in France the treaty was adopted by a tiny margin) opened the way to a heated debate on the democratic deficit of the EU. It was for the first time that Europe was confronted with such an issue. It was within this context that the institutional actors of the EU were urged to act, to establish a series of measures meant to make their work more transparent. This goal was formulated by the inter-institutional declaration of October 1993 on democracy, transparency and subsidiarity. In June 2001, the Commission established a new framework for cooperation on activities regarding the information and communication policy of the EU. Within this framework, all the other institutions and the member states were called to join the Commission in its efforts to elaborate the Union’s information and communication policy. This new enterprise of the Commission pointed out the importance of the role of the member countries in the dissemination of information on EU matters. The next year (March 2002), it was the European Parliament that adopted a report demanding for improved EU information policies and the development of comprehensive communication strategies. Shortly after (July 2002), the Commission issued a communication on a new strategy for its information and communication policy, but, unfortunately, it did not change the tide of declining interest and support on the part of the citizens. The huge abstention during the European Parliament elections of 2004 did nothing but confirm the growing lack of interest in EU politics. But a greater shock was still to come in 2005. The unexpected problem occurred on 29 May 2005 and 1 June 2005 when the draft Constitution was rejected in referenda in France and Netherlands. This was a turning point for the EU 134
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