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MEPs voting and attendance records to Committee and Plenary sessions are being duly scrutinised since VoteWatch.eu was launched on 11 May (see Close-up on voting records). Several MEPs have already been hauled over the coals (sometimes unfairly) and suddenly been put into the uncomfortable position of justifying a weak score. Transparency is definitely the order of the day and this is no bad thing.
But who is scrutinising candidates who already know that they will never, ever, take up a seat in Strasbourg? How many of these ghost-candidates top their party lists for the EU elections across Europe? Does honesty carry less weight than transparency?
- Miguel
It was no brilliant prophecy to predict that the internet and social media tools would play a major role in this year’s European elections. Content sharing platforms have indeed become surrogate battle fields where political parties and candidates from all countries square off. And video clips are their preferred Weapon of Mass Communication.
The EU video campaign is essentially a war of emotional creativity, with a final objective common to all parties – to get the video going ‘viral’ and spread it as much as possible through the web. Fraternity feelings, political controversy, fun, and coolness are key rating criteria.
Viral campaigning videos have sparked all sorts of controversies throughout the different Member States, potentially initiating debates on Europe (the last one was spread by the European Commission’s spot “20 Years of Liberty” which features a series of historical inaccuracies about Poland) but also on the increasing importance of understanding and using internet media.
- Maxime
See Commission clip “20 Years of Liberty”
Today, the 9th of May, marks Europe Day – an occasion established to commemorate the anniversary of Robert Schuman’s proposal for the creation of an organised Europe. Today we celebrate the very essence of what Europe is and what it means to be European.
Here at Grayling we wanted to revel in this European spirit in which people meet and connect with each other by going live with our very own blog called “The Lobby”. The Lobby is about the EU institutions, Brussels, and the world of EU public affairs and public relations. Sporadically it touches upon music, good food, art, technology, and unfair referees…all the things that make for everyday conversation.
Feel free to enter The Lobby, have a wander, a ponder and read about what’s hot in Brussels; pick up our latest publications on the “Coffee Table”; hear the latest gossip on “Place Lux” and of course you are more than welcome to share your views with us!
Wishing you an enjoyable Europe Day!
- Maxime, Rob, and Emil
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