Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-18-Speech-3-261"
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"en.20060118.20.3-261"2
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"I would like to thank Mr Duff for a worthy report. In the eyes of many European citizens the EU spends its time discussing bananas, the shape of a carrot and solar radiation levels, but not the issues that relate to the everyday life of European citizens. Seven out of ten citizens in Slovakia know very little about the EU and its structure. Citizens view the Union as something distant from their daily problems. It came as a shock that more people cast their votes in a recent Big Brother reality TV show than during the elections to the European Parliament.
Mass media play an important and crucial role in informing European citizens. Citizens are interested in the EU and want information on how it functions. The mass media should begin to inform them about the work of European institutions and the ways in which their decisions can affect everyday life. For this to happen, however, the right conditions need to be in place. I can appreciate that a journalist may find it difficult to explain draft legislation containing thousands of amendments, especially if the text is published just a few days before voting takes place and is not, for that matter, published in all languages. If the media are to inform citizens objectively about the work of the EU, they must focus on genuine work rather than titbits or scandals. At the same time, however, we must create the conditions for citizens to become better informed; we must eliminate the complex nature of European legislation and restrict the number of debates taking place behind closed doors."@en1
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