EU communication policy still not dead despite rumours, says Commission

The outgoing Commissioner for Communications, Margot Wallstrom, has given strong hints that aspects of her current brief will be integrated into the new Commissioner for Citizenship portfolio when the new Commission convenes.

It is important, she said before the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, that communication be kept up and enhanced in the near future, particularly in the light of the recent Irish Yes vote on the Lisbon Treaty, which she said proved the EU could send out “impartial information” to voters, and which has strengthened the the need to be protective of “the way the EU is presented”.

Wallstrom - 'Communications portfolio will not disappear'

Her comments come amid rumours of a change in communications strategy, and admissions by Commission officials that current communications policy is not working in its present form.

Now Wallstrom, who is set to depart the Commission this Autumn, has said that the policy must still be pursued as a priority, arguing that “communication is about democracy” and “can deliver better citizen expectations”.

“We must be persistent on this issue” she said.

Her comments open up the prospect that the policy of “going local” - targeting and, in some cases, subsidising, local media – has not gone away despite serious concerns by European  journalists fearful of losing jobs and independence due to Commission interference in the marketplace.

Despite the current communications portfolio being under review, Wallstrom insists that this does not mean it will disappear - just that it has been loosely redefined.

“It is important to have a Commissioner linked to other aspects of communication”, she said, alluding to the new position of 'Citizen Commissioner', hinting that communication can be channeled instead through NGOs or other legal entities.

“That there is a new Commissioner for Citizenship is very important”, she said.  “We have learned lessons about the way the EU is presented”.

“Europe can no longer be about elites” she insisted.