Monday 14 September 2009

The Commission does not care for the new Commissioners

Today, the European Parliament approved three new Commissioners:
As you can see from the links set above, the respective websites of the Commissioners have already been updated to the new Commissioners, although they have been formally approved only today.

Yet, on the frontpage of the European Commission there is no hint that European citizens are now represented by three new Commissioners (see screen shot from 21:45):


If, by accident, I had come on the Commission website today, it would have seemed as if nothing has changed over there. No single information about the news that the legal approval by the European Parliament took place today, not to speak about the voting results that you can read in the European Parliament press release.

This is yet another example of the inability of the European Commission to contribute to a democratic image of the Union: Yes, today a democratically elected supranational parliament has approved (including dissenting votes) parts of the EU's political executive - but this executive does in no way communicate this democratic event.

Does anyone care? Or am I the only one concerned?

But maybe it is just because Communication Commissioner Wallström has already packed and moved back to Sweden...

4 comments:

Brussels Blogger said...

Julien, you don't understand. This is called the inverted communication pyramid. Nobody is interested in the details. This is information for specialists only (which citizen can name a Commissioner by name, the national one excepted?).

You need to go to "press room" and then on the tiny link "What's new" on top of the page. THIS is the inter-institutional news page. Here you will (probably) find tomorow the press release from the European Parliament.

;-)

Julien Frisch said...

Okay - I realise I still have the naïveté of the Brussels outsider, even after more than 14 month of euroblogging... ;-)

Brussels Blogger said...

My prediction was right: the EP press release is now available via the "inter-institutional" news page: http://europa.eu/geninfo/whatsnew.htm

Julien Frisch said...

Yeah, it was there already this morning. But now, even almost 24h after the approval of the Commissioners, there is no single hint on the main website of the Commission to this important event.

A shame!