Communication policy

The aim of the Fact Sheets is to provide an overview of European integration and of the European Parliament’s contribution to that process.

Created in 1979 for Parliament’s first direct elections, the Fact Sheets are intended to provide non specialists with a straightforward and concise — but also accurate — overview of the European Union’s institutions and policies, and of the role that Parliament plays in their development.

The Fact Sheets are grouped into six chapters:

+ How the European Union works, which addresses the EU’s historical development, legal system, institutions and bodies, decision-making procedures and financing;
+ Citizens’ Europe, which describes individual and collective rights;
+ The internal market, which explains the principles and implementation of the internal market;
+ Economic and Monetary Union, which outlines the context of EMU and explains the coordination and surveillance of economic policies;
+ Sectoral policies, which describes how the EU addresses its various internal policies;
+ The EU’s external relations, which covers foreign policy, security and defence, trade, development, human rights and democracy, enlargement and relations beyond the EU’s neighbourhood.

A printed verson is published every five years in advance of an election to the European Parlament. The online pages are reviewed and updated at regular intervals throughout the year, as soon as Parliament adopts any important positions or policies.

Drafted by the policy departments and the Economic Governance Support Unit, the Fact Sheets are available in 23 languages.

For any inquiries, please contact the Unit for Coordination of Editorial and Communication Activities: (e mail: editorial-secretariat@europarl.europa.eu).Communication policy is not governed by specific provisions in the Treaties, but stems naturally from the EU’s obligation to explain its functioning and policies, as well as ‘European integration’ more generally, to the public. The need for effective communication has a legal basis in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, which guarantees the right of all citizens to be informed about European issues.

Since its formal launch in 2012, the new European Citizens’ Initiative has allowed citizens to become more directly involved in new legislation and European issues.

• Primary Source

EP: EPRS: Further Fact Sheets on the European Union http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/search.html?documentTypes=FACT_SHEET

European Parliament: At Your Service: Stay Informed: Fact Sheets on the European Union http://www.europarl.europa.eu/atyourservice/en/displayFtu.html

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