The last consultative Forum on the White Paper of the European Commission on communication policy was held in Berlin on 18-19 January. The meeting – organized jointly by the Executive and the German Presidency of the EU and entitled “Communicating Europe Together” – was attended by over 300 representatives of Community Institutions, national and local governments, political parties, the press and NGOs in the sector, who examined “the means to develop the existing partnerships and create new ones to bring Europe closer to citizens by improving communication and promoting a more effective and widespread system of communication to ensure the success of the common European project”. In her inaugural speech, the Vice-President of the Commission Margot Wallstroem, who holds the portfolio for communication, said that participation in public life and institutional communication require the “definition of common values and principles” that draw inspiration from the “right of citizens to be informed in a complete and fair way on the decisions that influence their life, wherever they be taken” and the “right to express their own point of view and be heard”.
