EU Information and Publicity Policy Claudia Salvi e Anna Claudia Abis Formez 8 May 2007

BACKGROUND  November European Transparency Initiative  February White Paper on an European Communication Policy

ETI  November 2005 European Commission launched the “ European Transparency Initiative ” (ETI) to raise awareness of the use made of EU money explaining better what Europe does and why it matters.

ETI GREEN PAPER With the Green Paper European Transparency Initiative interested parties were invited to submit their views by answering the questions contained in the different chapters. The consultation, opened on 3 May and closed on 31 August 2006 but the Commission is still receiving contributions from the interested parties Contributions were sent to the Commission via a dedicated website All contributions were published on the web site

ETI CONSULTATION ETI Consulation was based on a series of questions on the information related to EU funds beneficiaries  Do you agree that is desirable to introduce, at Community level, an obligation for Member States to make available information on beneficiaries of EU funds under shared management?  If so, what information should be required at national level? What would be the best means to make this information available (degree of information required, period covered and preferred medium)?

ETI GREEN PAPER FIRST RESULTS First Success for the Initiative: Recipients of EU Funds With the adoption of the revised Financial Regulation (on December 13, 2006) the EU has committed itself to full transparency about who receives monies from the EU budget. In Autumn 2006 two important results were achieved:  In order to facilitate the access of the public to the data related to the final beneficiaries of EU direct funding on 10 th October EU Commission included on EUROPA Portal two new web pages on Public Contracts and Grants  On 8th November General Direction Agriculture and Rural Development published a web page containing a list of national internet sites containing information on beneficiaries of money received from the Structural Funds as from 2008 and of money received under the Common Agricultural Policy as of 2009

ETI GREEN PAPER FIRST RESULTS Web page on Beneficiaries of Grants Web page on Beneficiaries of Public Contracts Web page on Beneficiaries of CAP payments under shared management

EUROPEAN COMMUNICATION POLICY WHITE PAPER  February 2006 On 1st February 2006 the European Commission adopted a White Paper on a European Communication Policy to involve all the key players (other EU institutions and bodies, national, regional and local authorities in the Member States, European political parties and civil societies) in a large discussion on how to reduce the gap between European Union and citizens. The text of the White Paper became available for public consultation via the internet from the 1st of February 2006 until the 30th of September This public consultation has now come to an end. The Commission used the consultation for deciding on future actions in the field of communication on European issues. The contributions from participants in the consultation are available on the internet site

EUROPEAN COMMUNICATION POLICY WHITE PAPER All the comments and suggestions - from individuals and institutions – were analysed by the Directorate General for Communication and a number of experts. A series of stakeholder conferences were organised to highlight and discuss the ideas and suggestions that the Commission received. These conferences were held during the autumn 2006 and in beginning of 2007 in Madrid, Bergamo, Helsinki, Berlin and Brussels. A final report on the outcome of the public consultation is going to be adopted by the Commission in spring On the basis of this report the EU Commission will draw up concrete proposals and action plans.

EUROPEAN COMMUNICATION POLICY WHITE PAPER How did the consultation work? In the White Paper, the areas in which the Commission sought views and suggestions were identified in boxes.  The Parliament, the Council and the other EU institutions and bodies were invited to respond to this White Paper through the normal institutional channels.  European citizens and stakeholders were invited to respond by logging on to a specially created multilingual website or at the postal address devoted to White Paper Consultation in Brussels.  The Commission, in co-operation with other EU institutions, also organized a series of ‘stakeholder forums’ to which specific interest groups (NGOs, business organizations and other stakeholders) were invited.  A special series of Eurobarometer polls were launched in Spring 2006 to provide the best possible data for analysis.

EUROPEAN COMMUNICATION POLICY WHITE PAPER Principles at the heart of European communication were  Inclusiveness  Diversity  Participation

EUROPEAN COMMUNICATION POLICY WHITE PAPER Principles at the heart of European communication  Inclusiveness. All citizens should have access in their own language to information about matters of public concern. This means that information should be made widely available through a wide range of channels, including the mass media and new technologies such as the Internet. It also means that people from all walks of life in all EU countries should be helped to develop the skills they need to access and use that information. This is particularly important in the case of minorities, disabled citizens and other groups that might systematically be excluded from participation in the public sphere.  Diversity. European citizens come from widely diverse social and cultural backgrounds and hold a wide variety of political views. EU communication policy must respect the full range of views in the public debate.  Participation. Citizens should have a right to express their views, be heard and have the opportunity for dialogue with the decision- makers. At EU level, where there is an added risk that institutions are remote from the citizens, this principle is of particular importance.

KEY MESSAGES Debating Europe, involving people Closing the gap Working together (EU insitutions, Member States, regional and local levels) in innovative ways Raising awareness of the use made of EU money

NEW I&P RULES  8 December 2006 Commission Regulation (EC) N. 1828/2006 of 8 December 2006 setting out rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Regional Development Fund and the related Corrigendum of 15 February 2007  11 July 2006 Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 of 11 July 2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 and the related Corrigendum Corrigendum of 01 September 2006 The related addendum for Bulgarja and Românja - (CE) 1989/2006 of 21 December 2006) The additional corrigendum of 2 February 2007

Information and Communication Platform NEW I&P RULES 15 June 2006 Structural Fund Information Team (SFIT) meeting. Presentation of the Draft of the Implementing Regulation for the part related to Information and Publicity measures concerning the intervention co- financed by Structural Funds.