The European Union is one of the world's best-kept secrets, Minister of State for European Affairs Noel Treacy said in Dublin yesterday.
He told a seminar on the European Commission's White Paper on European Communication Policy that "communicating Europe" was a key part of his own job.
"As the EU approaches its 50th birthday, it is probably fair to say that, despite the union's impact on the lives of all its citizens, it is still one of the world's best-kept secrets."
Foreign policy editor of The Irish Times Paul Gillespie said European and national identities did not have to displace one another and "can be complementary". The arena of debate on European issues was not just in Brussels or Strasbourg but in the member states: "Fifty years of integration have so penetrated the national demos that many issues now are both national and European."
Jillian Van Turnhout of the European Economic and Social Committee told the seminar that effective communication required the "involvement of citizens in the decision-making process" and this was best done on a local basis, using existing networks.
