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INTRODUCTION The European
Commission adopted its Communication
Strategy for Enlargement in May 2000 ( Version
Francaise ). Up to then, the preparations for enlargement
were based on two tracks: the pre-accession strategy (the reform
process in the candidate countries) and the accession negotiations.
The Communication Strategy for Enlargement is now the third track
in the preparations for enlargement.
Our aim is to explain to the public in the current and future
member states why the Union is about to undertake its largest
and most ambitious enlargement so far, and what the consequences
of this step are likely to be. This section of the DG Enlargement
web site informs readers about the way in which the aim is being
met.
EXPLAINING ENLARGEMENT
In order to respond to questions on the implementation
of the communication strategy for Enlargement, this section of
the web site explains how the Delegations and representations
are responding to the challenge of informing the citizens of the
current and future member states about the enlargement of the
EU.
- The first, comprehensive report, "EXPLAINING
ENLARGEMENT" was published in March 2002, and outlines
the progress made since the launch of the strategy in May
2000.
- The Commission transmitted to the European Council in SEVILLE
in June 2002 a further and more concise report, outlining
the way forward for the communication strategy.
 
- In addition to the above, you will find
here MONTHLY UPDATES, which summarise the activities
carried out as part of the communication strategy.
- The communication strategy for enlargement in the candidate
countries of central and eastern Europe is financed from the
Phare budget. The Commission recently allocated the PHARE
2002 funds for the further implementation of the communication
strategy in these countries.
Funds
per delegation
The Commission allocated at the end of June 2003 the latest
funds for the Communication Strategy in the countries where
it
is financed by Phare. This year's allocations take into account
the different levels of activity after the various referenda,
and the need to continue the information effort in the immediate
period after accession. The Phare programme will therefore
continue to finance the Communication Strategy until the end
of 2004 in the 8 central European countries that are set to
join on 1st May 2004, as well as the continuing Communication
Strategy in Bulgaria and Romania. See the table attached
ENLARGING THE EUROPEAN UNION - ACHIEVEMENTS
AND CHALLENGES
High-level report on the consequences of enlargement
The European Union's enlargement next year will be the fulfilment
of a vision, but it needs a clear strategy to make it a success,
says a new report published on the 26th of March 2003. Submitted
to the Commission by Mr Wim Kok, former Prime Minister of the
Netherlands, the report, "Enlarging the European Union:
Achievements and Challenges", argues that by expanding
its membership to 25 the EU can confront its four major challenges:
economic performance, internal cohesion, security and its external
role.
The report is available for downloading as PDF-file in
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Introduction :
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And will soon be available in the other languages of the candidate
countries.
The press release "The Kok report: Making a success of
Enlargement" is available as PDF-file: kok_pr_en.pdf
(61 Kb).
Background
The Commission has considered that an independent high-level
report on the consequences of enlargement should now be made,
to inform and accompany the debate. Although a number of studies
have been published in recent years, a comprehensive analysis,
at the European level, was desirable to provide clear and authoritative
answers to the many questions which are posed by the public.
Invited by Romano Prodi (Commission President) and Günter
Verheugen (Commissioner for Enlargement), Mr
Wim Kok accepted to chair the work of the Report. In preparing
his report, Mr Kok was assisted by experts from many different
countries and backgrounds. He also visited future member countries
and held discussions with European non-governmental organisations.
The report was prepared by the Robert Schuman Centre
for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute, Florence.
Restricted
tender 2006 related to information and communication actions
& audio-visual productions
The main objective is to provide support to
the implementation of the information and communication strategy
on enlargement.
The restricted tender in view of concluding framework agreements
will be launched for 2 lots, i.e. information and
communication actions mainly related to publications, materials
and events (Lot 1), and a second lot focusing on audio-visual
productions and related activities (Lot 2).
Contract Notice ( ) |
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Call for proposals on enlargement 2004 aimed at civil
society and public sector bodies in the enlarged European Union
The fifth and biggest enlargement of the EU has been successfully
achieved. As it is a continuous process, it needs to be explained
to the European citizens to enable them to come to terms with
it, in line with the Commission’s communication strategy
on enlargement. In comparison to previous calls for proposals,
its main features are as follows : it is the first call to cover
the 25 Member States of the enlarged Union; its total funding
under the PRINCE programme amounts to € 14 million, with
grants ranging from € 100 000 to € 500 000 per project;
it is not only open to organised civil society, but also to
public sector bodies; it is not restricted to trans-national
actions involving several Member States, but also open to projects
implemented in a single Member State or region. Projects must
be submitted by 30 September 2004 and completed by 31 May 2006
at the latest.
The text of the call for proposals and relevant documents
is available hereunder in English, French and German under Word,
Excel and PDF format.
2004 CALL FOR PROPOSALS ON ENLARGEMENT AIMED AT CIVIL SOCIETY
AND PUBLIC SECTOR BODIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION : RESULTS
This call was launched by Directorate General
Enlargement with a total budget of € 14 million.Actions
proposed by organisations of the civil society or public bodies
could be implemented in one Member State, or at regional or
municipal level in one member State, or at transnational or
transregional level, covering at least two Member States or
two regions in different Member States. Grants ranged from
€ 100,000 till € 500,000 per project, with a maximum
of 80 % of eligible costs for projects submitted by organisations
of the civil society, and 50 % of eligible costs per project
submitted by public sector bodies, or regional and municipal
authorities. As it covered for the first time the 25 Member
States of the enlarged Union, the response was unprecedented
: some 576 applications were registered, with an impressive
participation of the ten new Member States. After selection,
58 projects were retained, totalling € 13 731,211.20.
They are now being implemented, with 31 May 2006 as deadline.
A table summarizing each project’s main features follows
hereunder.
| List of selected projects |
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CALL FOR PROPOSALS ON
ENLARGEMENT
PARTNERSHIPS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY 2003
For the first time ever, the European Commission,
through DG Enlargement, is spending €5.5 Million under
the PRINCE programme to explain about enlargement to groups
and networks within civil society. The Commission is partnering
with various organisations whose projects are aimed at better
educating the general public (particularly groups focusing
on women, towns/cities, culture, sport, consumers, and the
elderly); young people; vulnerable groups; rural populations
and enterprises about the impact of enlargement on their daily
lives. With available grants of up to 75%, 22 specific projects
have been selected out of 142 applications. As well as partnering
with the institutions, each of these projects, in various
stages of execution, involves co-operation across at least
three EU Member States (MS) or three different MS regions
and often incorporates the New Member States too. The initiatives
use events, seminars, training, debates, meetings, publications,
articles, study groups, press conferences, exchanges, videos,
exhibitions, and the internet to reach out to citizens and
raise their awareness about enlargement.
An example of a project based on a dozen or
so seminars, co-operation fairs, fact-finding missions, symposiums
and even an enlargement party is that of 'Fostering Integration
and Trade between SMEs - FIT for Enlargement' created by the
German Confederation of Skilled Crafts. European Schoolnet
(EUN) is engaging school children through 'myEurope Plus -
A Common Enlarged Future' which is primarily based on developing
a website as a European hub for resources, activities, linking
of schools and sharing of information on enlargement issues
with pupils and teachers. The culmination will be a weeklong
celebration of Europe's enlargement across schools in the
current and future Member States. As they are far too many
to name, you will find more information on these pioneering
projects by following the links below.
- The text of the call for proposals
is available in English, French and German under PDF format:
- List of selected projects
CALL
FOR PROPOSALS AUDIOVISUAL SECTOR 2003: RESULTS
This call, the third one since 2002, and the second one in the
audiovisual sector, was launched jointly by three Commission services
(Directorates General Enlargement, Press and Secretariat General),
and totalled € 16,5 million, of which € 4 million devoted
to enlargement (Theme 1). It is cofinancing proposals submitted
by both producers and broadcasters, covering at least two Member
States or two regions in different Member States, with a possibility
to associate partners from the acceding countries (Theme 1) or
from non-member States (Theme 3). Deadline for proposals on Theme
1 was 30 June 2003 ; for proposals under Themes 2 and 3 (Future
of Europe and General Information on the EU) : 15 September 2003
Grants ranged from € 100,000 - 300,000 for TV proposals
and € 25,000 - 75,000 for radio projects
The list of retained projects on Theme 1 (Enlargement), with
a brief description of the content of each project and the grant
awarded, follows hereunder
Call for proposals: Text
List of retained proposals
CALL FOR PROPOSALS AUDIOVISUAL SECTOR
2002
The above call for proposals was launched on
our Website on 13 September 2002. Closing date : 25 October.
Given this relatively short time span, the results exceeded
the expectations. 63 proposals were submitted (46 for TV,
17 for radio). 50 proposals were retained for examination
by the jury, out of which 26 proposals from 9 member States
were selected (22 for TV, 4 for radio), totalling some 4.100.000
€ in grants. The list of the beneficiaries is attached.
The Commission intends to launch shortly a second call
for proposals, which, like the above one, will be published
on our Website. Given the importance of the audiovisual
media to reach public opinion, it is hoped that the response
will be at least as important as to the first one. So please
watch our Website around mid-March !
For information only: Call for proposals
on audiovisual productions carrying information and communication
on enlargement, intended for paneuropean and international
TV and radio broadcasters
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