Europe and you in 2006 A snapshot of EU achievements
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Margot Wallström is VicePresident of the European Commissionresponsible for communication. You can reach her at her personal blog at: ec.europa.eu/commission_ barroso/wallstrom
The EU reconnecng with citizens The European Union is less complicated than it ap.
This booklet is an attempt to show that, in its everyday activities, the Union in fact addresses many of your concerns as citizens, consumers or workers.
We have made a selection of 10 concrete examples out of the many areas where the EU is active. Each one demonstrates in a different way what the EU has done in 2006 to promote your economic and social wellbeing, how it has acted to protect the environment or how it is increasingly helping out in global hot spots.
The European Commission launched an EUwide consultation process in February to get the Union to connect with citizens whose worries over Europe were evident when voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the draft EU Constitution in mid2005. Results of the consultation, involving stakeholders from all over Europe, from public bodies to private citizens, will be published in spring 2007.
In the meantime, we have put several other measures in place in order to give individual citizens more say on EU issues. One example is the ‘Debate Europe’ website. We also have a network of more than 400 local Europe Direct information centres in all EU countries. They help answer your questions and create contacts. You can also call the freephone helpline of the Europe Direct contact centre from anywhere in the EU on00 800 7 8 9 10 11.
Margot Wallström
The Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957, providing one the founding acts of the European Union.
You can see the videos of ‘Europe and you in 2006’ atec.europa.eu/snapshot2006
European Commission DirectorateGeneral for Communication Publications B1049 Brussels