The External Communication Activities, Tools and Structures of the European Commission: Lessons Learned and New Avenues

This report contains the main findings and recommendations of a major study carried out by CEPS on the European Commission’s external communication activities, tools and structures. The objective of the study was to provide analytical insight and research-based recommendations to the Screening Working Group of the European Commission concerned with the institution’s public communications. The overall questions addressed included:
• What lessons can be drawn from past and current activities on the best cost-benefit ratio of different communication activities and tools for specific objectives/priorities/target groups?
• How can the allocation of resources devoted to communication within the Commission be improved to make communication more efficient and effective?
• How can the governance model for communication activities be further improved to make communication more efficient and effective?
• Can duplication or gaps in the communication activities of the different DGs, including Representations (REPs), be detected, and if so, how can they be addressed?
• Are there any communication activities that could/should be discontinued on grounds of lacking cost-benefit or changing environment (new technologies, etc.)?
The research for this report was carried out in 2007, at which time Sebastian Kurpas was a Research Fellow at CEPS and Christoph Meyer and Michael Brüggemann were Associate Fellows.