EU communications going local

SEECOM Conference – Budva – 27/09/2014

Tom De Smedt

Time to rethink EU communications

EP elections turn-out 1979-2014 2

Citizens and their

image of the EU Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014

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Citizens and their

image of the EU Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014

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Citizens and their

image of the EU Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014

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Time to rethink EU communications

Citizens and their

image of the EU Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014

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Citizens and their

image of the EU Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014

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2014-2015 momentum: turning point EU communication

Start new programming period for European Structural and Investment Funds

Start new EU legislature

Citizens ready and tools available for more dialogue and participation

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EU communication: what could be the role of regions

and cities?

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SWOT analysis decentralised EU communications anno 2014

Enhance our

STRENGTHS

Fight our

WEAKNESSES

Invest in the

OPPORTUNITIES

Be aware of the

THREATS

STRENGTHS

• Power of visible and tangible stories

• Existing tools and networks (e.g. EDICs, OPEN DAYS local events, etc)

• Experienced (but limited) group of EU comms professionals at local/regional level

WEAKNESSES

• Lack of ownership

• Low support from media

• Low outreach > low impact > low interest

• Lack of resources for (decentral) EU comms

• Lack of coordination

• Mismatch « What EU does » / « What EU is expected to do » / « What EU is liked for »

OPPORTUNITIES

• Public trust in local/regional authorities

• New EU legislature and new funding period

• Shared sense of urgency in institutions

• Network of non-instit. goodwill partners

• Media attention for ongoing EU crisis

• Expertise regions/cities in citizen participation

• Rise of social media & participation tools

• Efforts for local capacity building enlargement countries

THREATS

• Political biasing

• Institutional profiling

• Member States overruling local efforts

• Further budget cuts in communications

• Digital and social divide / elitism

Regions and cities ready to take up their role

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Regions and cities ready to take up their role

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Regions and cities ready to take up their role

Long and proven experience in citizens' participation and in EU communication

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Proposal of the CoR:

2015-2019 Communication Plan:

common,

measurable

and monitored

targets for all institutions and partners

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Higher citizens' involvement: participation and dialogue

Go local: regions, cities and local stakeholders as multipliers, antennas and facilitators

Better coordination of institutions’ communication strategies

Key principles 2015-2019 Communication Plan

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Action proposals 2015-2019 Communication Plan

Develop a shared EU narrative

Involve local and regional communicators

Decentralise 20% of EU communication budget

Citizens' dialogues, regional visits, local media partnerships, online tools and networks, etc

500 million EU citizens

Regions and Cities | CoR Members

EPIOs | EC Reps | EDICs CoR Nat. Del. | Nat. Territ. Ass.

EU institutions

EU s

ph

ere

2

8 N

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Terr

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Corp. Policy Branding Narrative Content Budget

Evidence- based commun.

Regional partnersh. Particip

ation

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Best practice EU regions and cities

Lessons learnt:

Go for a participatory approach Example: Bremen (DE)

Focus on “Erasmus” generation Example: Umbria (IT)

Search for media partnerships Example: Carinthia (AT)

Group your EU communication budgets Example: Wallonia (BE)

Develop innovative communication tools Example: Faktabaari (FI)

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More information

www.cor.europa.eu

www.cor.europa.eu/europcom

tom.desmedt@cor.europa.eu

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