EU Communications going local: involvement of regions and cities in connecting Europe with its citizens. Presented at the 3rd SEECOM Conference (Budva, Montenegro, 27 September 2014)

1. EU communications going local
SEECOM Conference – Budva – 27/09/2014
Tom De Smedt

2. Time to rethink EU communications
EP elections turn-out
1979-2014
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3. Citizens and their image of the EU
Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014
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4. Citizens and their image of the EU
Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014
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5. Citizens and their image of the EU
Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014
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6. Time to rethink EU communications
Citizens and their image of the EU
Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014
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7. Citizens and their image of the EU
Standard Eurobarometer 81, July 2014
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8. 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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9. EU communication: what could be the role of regions and cities?
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10. SWOT analysis decentralised EU communications anno 2014
Enhance our
STRENGTHS
Fight our
WEAKNESSES
Invest in the
OPPORTUNITIES
Be aware of the
THREATS

11. 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

12. 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 »

13. 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

14. THREATS
•Political biasing
•Institutional profiling
•Member States overruling local efforts
•Further budget cuts in communications
•Digital and social divide / elitism

15. Regions and cities ready to take up their role
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16. Regions and cities ready to take up their role
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17. Regions and cities ready to take up their role
Long and proven experience in citizens' participation and in EU communication
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18. Proposal of the CoR:
2015-2019 Communication Plan:
common,
measurable
and monitored
targets for all institutions and partners
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19. 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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20. 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

21. 500 million EU citizens
Regions and Cities | CoR Members
EPIOs | EC Reps | EDICs
CoR Nat. Del. | Nat. Territ. Ass.
EU institutions
EU sphere
28 National spheres
Territorial spheres
Corp. Policy
Branding
Narrative
Content
Budget
Evidence-
based
commun.
Regional
partnersh.
Participation
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22. 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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23. More information
www.cor.europa.eu
www.cor.europa.eu/europcom
tom.desmedt@cor.europa.eu
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