This time it is different

A farmer at work, the birth of a child, an act of solidarity, the production of “clean” energy, a young girl making sports, a religious wedding, laboratory research, the combination of a scene of traditional life and the use of innovative technology… These are images of a video recording produced for the institutional campaign ahead of the elections for the new European Parliament. It is aimed at describing Europe and the Europeans, the vastness of the continent, the social and cultural diversity of its peoples, and the 28 countries that belong to it: yet it is one Europe. The elections of May 22-25, 2014, are not that far away and, above all, you need to convince 506 million people (400 million voters, of which 37 million will vote for the first time) to go to the polls to make their voice be heard.Vulnerable citizens. “We would like to send a strong message to European citizens – your vote can help to determine the future of Europe” says Anni Podimata, a Greek MEP, vice-president of the European Assembly, while presenting in Strasbourg on September 10, the campaign to urge citizens to vote for the next composition of the hemicycle (2014-19 term). “These are perhaps the most important elections that have been held so far for the European Parliament – she notes. This is a really delicate stage from the economic and social point of view, people feel vulnerable. But the EU can address many concrete problems affecting its citizens: we must give it the strength it needs. This is why the Parliament in Strasbourg” – legislative, budgetary, and ‘in charge of democratic control’ body within the EU architecture, the only common institution elected by universal suffrage – “is calling for the widest possible democratic legitimacy. We need to restore the confidence of citizens towards Europe”.Four phases. The slogan of the campaign, which will accompany the voters until next year, is “Act. React. Impact”. The campaign will take place in four phases. The first phase, in September and October, will “explain the new powers of the European Parliament” after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty “and their implications for EU citizens,” says the press office of the EU Parliament, directed by Spaniard Jaume Duch. “Phase two, from October, 2013, to February, 2014, will focus on five key issues – the economy, jobs, quality of life, money, and the EU in the world – with a series of interactive events in European cities”. The third phase, the real election campaign, will begin in February, “and will focus on the election dates of May 22 to 25, which will be added to the logo, shortly before the elections”. After the elections, “the final phase will focus on the newly elected European Parliament, which  will have the task to elect the next president of the European Commission,” as well as on the starting of the new term and the launch of the next EU Commission.Media and social networks. The campaign will use various forms of communication (slogans, video and printed material, Internet, “live” meetings and events in member Countries…) and will also focus on social networks. The total cost of the institutional campaign (which will be neutral with respect to the parties and the political spectrum, and is aimed at informing on the results achieved by the EU Parliament and its powers) will be 16 million Euro, corresponding to 3 Euro cents per citizen. Jaume Duch explains: “The campaign will cover 28 countries and 24 languages. A third of the invested budget will be allotted to the social networks”.”More competences to the EU”. Another slogan that will be used in the next few months, even with the intent to counter the growing anti-Europeanism that certainly is not ignored by the institutions in Strasbourg and Brussels, is “This time it is different”. Othmar Karas, Austrian MEP, the other vice-president responsible for communication, makes it clear in this regard: “Without the European Union we would have far more devastating effects of the economic crisis. We should realize that more powers to the European Parliament and the EU can promote more effective responses to our future challenges in the economic, educational, environmental, energy, social areas… For example, to counter unemployment or protecting consumers ‘we need more Europe’. In this direction, an extensive use of polls by our citizens will help to defeat the Eurosceptics and give more power to the European Union”.