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European Commission 2.0 - Towards an open debate?

The lack of citizen involvement in the decision-making process of the European Union, coupled with a low identification level to the EU and weak democratic control mechanisms, are perceived as major shortcomings in the relationship between citizens and EU institutions.

Distrust in the European Union - in 2010, 45 percent of EU citizens said they “tend not to trust the EU” - and declining voter turnout rates for the European Parliament elections (from 63 percent in 1979 down to 43 percent in 2009) are even threatening the legitimacy of the political system of the Union.

The communication gap between the EU and its citizens will only close if Brussels becomes characterised by less bureaucracy and more transparency and openness.

A group of web editors at the European Commission in January 2010 expressed the necessity to engage in dialogue with European citizens. In an open letter to the new Commissioners, they urged for a greater use of social media tools and a “shift in attitude to break away from the one-way, top-down communication culture.”

A quick tour through the Commissioners’ blogs

Within the Barroso II Commission 2010-2014, a total of five Commissioners are keeping a personal weblog.

All five weblogs can be accessed through a dedicated portal.

How do they compare in content, usability, user participation, and interaction with readers?

The Smile of Sheila - The Emotional
Kristalina Georgieva, the Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, started blogging in March 2010. A special feature of her blog is that each story is published both in English and in Bulgarian, in two separate sections. She has produced 56 entries covering topics of her daily work: high level meetings, conferences, and reports about trips to regions hit by humanitarian crises. In her entry titled The Smile of Sheila, Georgieva gives an illustrated account of her visit in March 2010 to Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated the country. As in many other posts, the Commissioner articulates her views and memories in a figurative language. She gives an insight into her personal beliefs and her photographs bring the stories to life. Georgieva’s comment practice stands out from the rest. Of all Commissioners she seems to understand best how to use her blog as an interactive medium and a tool to build up a network of readers. In the English version she reacted 15 times to readers’ questions and suggestions. Given the fact that Georgieva also replies to comments in the Bulgarian section, there are two separate language communities that do not interact with each other within her blog.

Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response visits a refugee camp in Yemen

Every Woman Digital – The Professional
Neelie Kroes, the Commissioner for Digital Agenda, is one of the most active bloggers among the Commissioners. Her blog is, according to a survey, one of the most influential EU blogs. While the number of clicks on each blog post (1870) is not particularly high, the quality of her contributions meets high standards. Kroes covers a wide range of themes, such as cyber crime, ICT, freedom of expression or roaming mobile charges, and sometimes she blogs about questions outside her portfolio (e.g. organ donation). Kroes’ blog entries are well-structured and the main arguments are indicated in bold text. In addition, her postings are characterised by a large number of references to online sources. Her post Every Woman Digital includes several links to media sources (videos, reports, and articles) and a balanced mix of factual information and personal notes. It is worth noting that Kroes does not use her blog as a means for participatory interaction with readers. In fact, in many posts, the comment function has been disabled. The rating option for articles is often the only available instrument for feedback. Commissioner Kroes also uses other digital tools of communication (e.g Twitter) for debating.

Day of development – The Precise
Andris Piebalgs, the Commissioner for Development, was the first blogger of the current Commission. Piebalgs blogs in English and in French and attracts the second highest readership (about 2560 per entry) of the five blogging Commissioners. His writings are well thought out and detailed when he talks about, for instance, the EU’s commitment in the field of development, conferences he has attended, reports he has read and agreements he has signed. Piebalgs seems to have an inclination to write about International days such as World Tuberculosis Day, International Women’s Day or the Development Days. More interesting are his comprehensive responses to a specific newspaper article or to a report he disagrees with. Piebalgs however does not use his blog as a platform to further the debate and does not join in the online conversation. Although readers have tried to interact with the Commissioner - the average number of comments per post is 1.4, including a number of spam comments, the only time they received an answer was during the first few months of Piebalgs’ blogging career, and even then it was not Piebalgs himself who replied but a “Blog admin”.

Aquaculture – The Conservative
Maria Damanaki, the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, has been writing her blog for almost one year. Within this period, Damanaki has only produced 14 entries. Regardless, Damanaki’s blog has the highest average number of page views, often with more than 4000 views per post. Given the less popular subject of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Damanaki’s decision to bring her portfolio closer to the citizens by starting a weblog is notable. The Commissioner wishes to awaken interest in her work and to explain specific concepts such as discarding or aquaculture. In terms of personal communication with the visitors of her blog, Damanaki only responded to readers’ comments on her post dated 7th of March. This heavily discussed entry illustrates what an online conversation could look like. In general, the Commissioner seems reluctant to inserting links to other media sources and does not embed pictures in her posts either. Damanki’s blog has the potential to be much more than just a drop in the sea if she adapts to today’s blogging practices.

Lunch in Cairo – The Beginner
Cecilia Malmström, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, just started her blog in February 2011, which might account for the comparative low average number of visitors of 220 per post. Nevertheless, she has been the most active blogger within the last three months publishing a total of 35 entries. However, quantity does not always mean quality. Some articles such as Lunch in Cairo, or Meeting with Heads of Representations, which consist of only a few sentences, may better fit a micro-blogging website such as Twitter.  Moreover, Cecilia Malmström has not yet fulfilled the statement made in her first entry in which she described her blog as an “important tool to communicate”. So far the Commissioner of Home Affairs has never replied to any comment, even though controversial issues such as the readmission agreement with Turkey, would seem worth discussing in more detail. Malström’s blog could gain from offering more interesting topics and more meaningful images. There is still room for improvement in order to attract more readers in the future.

Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs started her blog in February 2011 “as an important tool to communicate”

Commission 2.0 - How social are you?

Even if an increased use of social media can be witnessed at EU level, the value of these tools – and especially of blogging - is highly correlated to their purpose.

In her reply to the web editors’ open letter, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding said that “social media can help us to connect in a more interactive way with European citizens, provided they form part of a coherent communication strategy and are based on a solid cost-benefit analysis”.

Will the European Institutions regain the citizens’ trust based solely on a “cost-benefit” calculation? Are social media tools just another means to convince people on EU policies or will they effectively be used to humanise the debate?

Europe needs more faces to identify with. Blog on!

 

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