INFORMATION DROWNING ABOUT THE EU

European Commission

The EC has created an on-line ‘Directory of Journalists accredited to the European Institutions in order to facilitate contacts with journalists.

However, access is restricted and is only available to

1. The staff of the Commission’s Spokesperson’s Service
2. The staff from the press service of other EU institutions
3. The press officers of the Permanent Representations of the Member States
4. The press officers in the Information and Communication Units of the Directorate Generals

The Commission runs a long-established spokesperson’s service with a midday briefing every working day in the press room of the Commission’s headquarters for members of the Brussels media corps and other press temporarily in the city. It is responsible for running the Europa web server (www.europa.eu).

On a regular basis, European Commissioners attend to explain the latest legislative initiatives or decisions to the media and to answer journalists’ questions. In general, the daily briefing lasts between half an hour and one hour, with a short introduction to the day’s offerings from the Chief Spokesperson and other spokespeople, followed at times by a series of more technical briefings on specific pieces of legislation.

Paper copies of press releases and background material can be found outside the press room. The same material will be available on the Europa website after the midday briefing. News agencies are eager to get the press releases as soon as they come out so as to be the first to announce the news.

Commission press conferences are held in French and English during the working week and in most of the 23 official EU languages on Wednesdays- the day the 27 Commissioners meet or on other special occasions such as press conferences by Commissioners.

The spokespeople are the only Commission officials- apart from Commissioners and Director-Generals of services  allowed to speak to the press ‘on the record’ for the institution. Civil servants working in the Commission’s directorates are not supposed to speak to the press. However, once a journalist has established a working relationship with an official, the information he or she may provide can usually be used on a background and off-the-record basis.

Each Directorate-General (DG) has its own website, information service and newsletter and each has a spokesperson and press officer(s)

1. The European Commission has also spokespeople in its national representations in the 28 Member States. They can provide an additional perspective on the impact of decisions taken in Brussels on individual countries.
2. European Commission’s Audiovisual Service

European Parliament

The European Parliament has well-equipped press rooms in Brussels and Strasbourg. The bulk of its plenary meetings are held in Strasbourg, which because of the transport and accommodation difficulties, makes it harder for Brussels-based journalists to cover the institution on the spot. However, live broadcasts of plenary sessions and press conferences on EbS make the task of reporting on the Parliament easier.

The creation of its own television channels (www.europarltv.europa.eu) is designed to increase information and communication about the Parliament’s activities. While journalists’ organizations have welcomed efforts to increase the information available, they have also raised concerns that the Parliament has now begun producing ‘ready-made’ programmes in competition with traditional media without offering sufficient guarantees on editorial independence.

The Parliament has no daily briefings, but it organises a pre-session press conference in Brussels on the Friday before the monthly meetings in Strasbourg. A ‘last-minute press briefing' is held in Strasbourg before the start of the sitting on the Monday of each session week.

A full list of MEPs and the committees on which they sit can be found on the Parliament’s website (www.europarl.europa.eu)

Journalists should know that MEPs are their own best spokespeople. Some are highly knowledgeable, most are able to speak in ‘sound bites’ and all are keen to be quoted on the record. The Parliament’s press officers or the MEP’s assistants are also excellent sources to explain the details of legislation being discussed or its background.

1. EP President’s Press Office (President’s Spokesperson, Deputy Spokesperson, Press Officer for the President)
2. EP Press Service (Director of the Media and European Parliament Spokesperson, Head of Press Room Unit, Head of the Media Services and Monitoring Unit, Head of the Audiovisual Unit)
3. EP Political Groups Press Service: Each political group has a press service, website and e-mail list for journalists.
4. Press Officers: Most information about Parliament’s activities is provided by press officers in each of the 23 language sectors. There are also Plenary Press Officers.
5. EP Committees: Each committee has a news report service

EP Press Publications

The following are the three main publications in all the EU’s 23 official languages dealing with parliamentary sessions:

• The Briefing: Published during the week before the plenary session, this summarizes reports and other items on the agenda.
• The Daily Notebook: Reports on debates and votes as they take place during plenary sessions
• The Week: A newsletter that reviews the plenary debates and votes after the session has ended.

Three publications- in English and French provide information about committee meetings:

• News Report: A daily news bulletin on meetings of parliamentary committees and public hearings.
• News Alert: Published every Friday, this news sheet lists the upcoming week’s parliamentary activities, such as committee meetings, press conferences and hearings
• Background Notes: This occasional publication provides detailed information about specific topics.

EP Information Offices in EU countries

Like the Commission, the European Parliament has information offices in every EU capital, as well as some other major cities and candidate countries. One of the main roles of the information offices is to provide journalists with information about Parliament and help them in their contacts with the institutions

Council of the European Union

Media contact with the Council occurs mainly on the occasion of ministerial meetings: background briefings and documents are provided before these meetings, flash press releases and Council conclusions are issued during them, and they are followed by a press conference.

1. Council Press Office (Central Press Office Secretariat, Head of the Press Office, Support to the European Council President: Deputy Spokesperson). The Council press office is available for background information about Council preparations, which occur notably in the weekly meetings of Coreper 2, the forum of national permanent representatives of Coreper 1 for their deputies. Members of the Council Press Office speaks on conditions of anonymity. They are usually quoted as ‘EU sources’ or ‘EU officials’ but not as ‘Council press officers’ or by their name. Before each Council meeting, the press service produces a background briefing that is available on the web in English and French. At the end of the meeting, the provisional conclusions are also posted on the internet.
2. Council Press Officers responsible for specific Council policy areas
3. Audiovisual
4. Rotating presidencies
5. Press Officers at Permanent Representations

European External Action Service (EEAS) (EEAS Spokesperson, Deputy Spokesperson)

Other EU Institutions

1. The Court of Justice (Luxembourg): Its multilingual press service is very helpful to explain subtle legal issues to clarify the means of rulings)
2. The European Central Bank (Frankfurt) (Director of Communication, Head of Press and Information Decision)
3. European Court of Auditors (Luxembourg) (Press contact at Communication and Reports Unit)
4. European Economic and Social Committee (Brussels) (Press Officer)
5. Committee of the Regions (Brussels) (Director of Press and Communication)
6. European Invest Bank (Head of the Press Division, Deputy Head of the Press Division)
7. European Ombudsman (Strasbourg) (Press Officer)
8. European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) (Brussels) (Spokesperson)
9. Eurostat, Statistical Office of the EU (Luxembourg) (Head of Press Office)

EU Agencies

1. Cdt Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (Luxembourg)
2. Cedefop, European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Greece)
3. CPVO, Community Plant Variety Office (France)
4. EAR, European Agency for Reconstruction (Greece)
5. ECDC, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (Sweden)
6. ECHA, European Chemicals Agency (Finland)
7. EBA, European Banking Authority (UK)
8. EDA, European Defence Agency (Brussels)
9. EEA, European Environment Agency (Denmark)
10. EFSA, European Food Safety Authority (Italy)
11. EIGE, European Institute for Gender Quality (Lithuania)
12. EMCDDA, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (Portugal)
13. EMEA, European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicine Products (UK)
14. ENISA, European Network and Information Security Agency (Greece)
15. ERA, European Railway Agency (France)
16. ETF, European Training Foundation (Italy)
17. EU-OSHA, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Spain)
18. Eurofound, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Ireland)
19. Europol (The Netherlands)
20. FRA, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (Austria)
21. FONTEX, European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Members States of the European Union (Poland)
22. OHIM, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Spain)