European Union" "
In the course of its plenary session in Strasbourg (11-14 March), the European Parliament (EP) approved the Commission’s report and resolution presented by Ole Andreasen (ELDR, DK) on Communication relating to a new framework of cooperation for the EU’s information and communication policies. The document of the Commission was a response to the criticisms directed at the EU institutions on various sides, as particularly regards the lack of transparency in institutional activity and the not always easy access to documentation. Through the Resolution, the European Parliament urges a greater effort on the part of the institutions both in terms of decentralized communication, in other words, communication incumbent on the representatives of the EU in the individual member states, and in terms of increased information via Internet. The MEPs are agreed in expressing their concern about the proposed reduction of the budgetary allocation made by the Commission for information and communication. For the 2003 and 2004 financial years they call for the realization of a “common awareness-raising campaign in view of the direct elections of the EP in June 2004”, a campaign for which a greater involvement of MEPs in the national political debate and a greater presence of the national Parliaments in the European political debate are called for.
