Bridging the EU’s Communication Gap?

As we all know there are millions and millions of EU citizens out there that feel a deep and distressing sense of emptiness and detachment from the EU legislative machine. Such citizens are just gagging to learn about the enthralling political dealings that occur here in Brussels and (as soon as extra hard hats are provided) in Strasbourg.

I am pleased to announce that their wish will soon come true! Yes, Europarl TV, a new web streaming service that this former intrepid intern has talked about before, is going live on the 17th September after a short ceremony in the European Parliament hosted by Mr Pöttering himself (we did of course get an invite and will report on its proceedings). So get ready for a collective sigh of relief from all four corners of the EU next week as all those citizens flock to their nearest PC and tune in to ‘Rapporteur’s Questions Time’ where they can learn all about issues such as the placement of plant protection products on the market and listen to those inevitable witty comments from their favourite MEPs.

To be honest, your friendly digital blogger has had a look at the working site and to give credit where it’s due (in this case to Michael Shackleton and his team) the site looks very promising and includes four channels with a wide variety of programming that in theory could cater to most of the public and not just us EU geeks. Feedback from a sample of EU citizens also proved to be very positive. Digital outreach will always be encouraged on this blog so don’t forget to tune in next week!

Digital Dave

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

3 Comments

Julien Frisch
September 22, 2008 | 11:02 AM

So, how was the opening ceremony? Anything valuable?

Jon Worth » Europarltv pumps out Strasbourg propaganda
September 18, 2008 | 10:27 AM

[...] having a look at Europarl TV, launched yesterday with a bit of fanfare in Brussels. I was not at the launch so I didn’t profit from a few glasses of wine to temper my views on the project. I instead [...]

EU Media
September 12, 2008 | 10:15 AM

Thanks for information. Looks interest)ing. I wonder what will be the main differences with the existing one. Hope like you it will integrate interactive features and will be able to reach any citizen (especially in the context of the upcoming EP elections. I guess it depends also of national / local media.