| Abstract [eng] |
Communication is an important part of the European Union democracy. European citizens have a right, as the intended beneficiaries of policy and as active participants in the democratic system, to impartial, objective and full information on the European Union in all official languages. Furthermore, the information that is being distributed should show citizens the specific advantages in their daily lives belonging to the European Union. However, the recent Eurobarometer results show that the citizens are not much aware of the European Union and its institucions and do not feel they have opportunities to express their opinion in the decision making. The purpose of the master thesis is to reveal the main features of the European Union communication strategy and to assess the activities of the Directorate General of Communication in the implementation of this strategy. The main tasks of the master thesis are to describe the preconditions of the European Union communication strategy, its purposes and evolution, and to reveal the means of communication implemented by the Directorate General of Communication. With the help of methods of descriptive and comparative analysis a conclusion was made that in order to remove the communication deficit, a comprehensive communication strategy is needed with the involvement of the institutions of the European Union, the governments of the Member States, local authorities, civil society organisations and all stakeholders. The European Commission is not capable to remove the gap which exists between the European Union and its citizens. Another conclusion was made that the means of the European Union communication strategy that are being implemented by the Directorate General of Communication partially contribute to the objectives stated in the European Union communication strategy. It should be added that they are not enough in order to ensure the full informing of the citizens and consultation as well as their participation in the decision making processes. While implementing one of the strategic principles of the European Union communication strategy “going local”, the role of the representations of the European Commission should be strengthened as they know the best the local audiences. |
