Citizens! The EU has something to tell you
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By Juha Akkanen
The European Commission is dissatisfied with the way that its message is getting across to the citizens. As was apparent in the Eurobarometer survey a couple of weeks back, citizens are not particularly interested in the glad tidings of the EU.
Consequently, the Commission promises to listen to the people and to speak in a human voice. To this end, a White Book is to be published on the subject in the autumn. Imagine, a White Book!
What is it, you ask? Well, it’s... it’s... well, naturally, it is a Commission document that contains views and proposals for action with the aim of correcting the situation.
Were there any more stupid questions? We’ll get back to the Green Book sometime later.
As one might conclude from the preceding, civil servants have a long way to go if the Commission is to speak in a human tongue.
Translating EU jargon into understandable language has been left to EU correspondents, and in Finland, to journalists specialised in Union affairs. It is not an enviable job.
The most fluent at EU slang - in addition to civil servants - are probably Finland’s farmers. However, they tend to colour their discourse on EU matters with a few choice down-home intensifiers.
So the Commission has decided that communications shall be improved. One might wonder. Top EU leaders decided at their summit in Cardiff in the summer of 1998 that the EU should come closer to the people. But what has happened? Has Uncle José travelled to the provinces to press the flesh with his subjects? Has he taken children brought to him into his lap?
The trend appears, instead, to be in the opposite direction. Even the Soviet Union was better in dealing with this side of propaganda.
To get the message across better, the Commission plans to hire more professionals in the information field, mainly to its local representations.
If the vacancies were distributed equally, Finland would get two information officers. However, if this matter were also decided on the basis of the populations of the countries, Finland would get half of a post. Well, that’s just the way to bridge the gap between the EU and its citizens, isn’t it?
The EU has been compared, ad nauseam, to a bicycle that has to move forward constantly, lest it fall over.
The current state of the EU is like the twisted path driven by a drunken cyclist, with Germany, France, and the UK pulling at the handlebars, each in its own direction.
Italy just sits on a cushioned back seat, eating Parma ham, shouting insults to the smaller ones, who have to pedal for Italy’s sake.
The best description of the EU’s current state of affairs is from an old anecdote from that other great union of nationalities. In the story, the most famous Soviet leaders, from V.I. Lenin on down, are travelling in a train in the same carriage from Moscow to Siberia, when suddenly the rails come to an end. Then each leader in turn offers his own solution on how to proceed.
The EU comes to mind from Brezhnev’s response: "Let’s pull down the blackout curtains, shake back and forth, and pretend that the train is still moving."
Helsingin Sanomat - first published in print 3.8.2005
JUHA AKKANEN / Helsingin Sanomat
juha.akkanen@hs.fi
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| 9.8.2005 - THIS WEEK |
 Citizens! The EU has something to tell you |
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