July 2005 newsletter

Welcome to the July 2005 edition of the EPHA newsletter.

Europe’s first Communication Commissioner, Margot Wallström has published plans for the European Commission’s "Action Plan to Improve Communicating Europe". The 50 actions set out in the plan aim at improving the Commission’s capacity and skills to communicate European policies.

The new approach for the Commission will be to "Listen, Communicate, Go local" and reach beyond the core audience of Brussels watchers. In a groundbreaking move, the Commission has also appointed media professionals rather than career civil servants to head up their offices in several new Member States.

The widening gap between citizens and the EU institutions was demonstrated by the French and Dutch "no" votes on the new Constitutional Treaty. The alienation of individuals from the rest of society had more tragic consequences with the recent terrorist attacks in London. One lesson to be drawn is the critical importance of integrating all young people, providing real opportunities for education and jobs and giving them a stake in the political process.

However, the London bombings also gave us an example of the value of a well implemented Communication strategy. The integrated and efficient response of the emergency services, police, transport and health, was the result of a planned and well rehearsed response system. All services and their team members knew their roles and worked together closely, helped by clear channels of communication.

As the World Health Organisation (WHO) urges the world to acknowledge the danger that the current outbreaks of avian flu may spark off a global flu pandemic, the need for effective communication and information sharing becomes more apparent.

The Commission is working on a Green Paper on Community Influenza Pandemic Preparedness and Response Planning, expected in September 2005, which will stress the importance of co-ordination between Member States and the EU.

Maintaining a health European society requires communication and cooperation between all actors to tackle threats to health.

EPHA members can now download the minutes of EPHA’s General Assembly which took place on 22-23 June.

A briefing note on Cohesion policy and Structural funds can be found on EPHA’s website.

 Read all the online articles of our newsletter for July 2005.