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Written by Judith Schilling.
 The biggest survey ever carried out by the European Commission in the UK showed that well over half of respondents said they knew only a bit about the EU, whilst three in ten said they knew nothing at all. That's a lot of people with little or no clue about what the European Commission does, where their money is going or what benefits they enjoy in return. But Britons do want the information deficit plugged.
The same survey showed that 70% of respondents would like to know more about how the EU related directly to their daily lives.
Here is where the information efforts of the various parts of the European Commission come in. They publish a plethora of free leaflets for the general public to assist them in forming an opinion on the work of the European Union, to enable them to take part in the public debate about the future of Europe or simply make them feel better informed about what's in it for them. But how does one find out which brochure to read best and how to actually get it?
Easy Reading Corner
The Easy Reading Corner is a good start for everyone who has not previously browsed the multitude of available resources giving the choice of searching by topic or simply looking at an alphabetical list of titles. They range from the European Union's efforts in ‘Combating Climate Change' to ‘Your Rights as a Consumer' which might concern the first time reader more directly.
Visitors to the Easy Reading Corner are able to first check out the electronic version of every leaflet or poster shown there before deciding whether reading it on their screen is sufficient or whether a printed copy is needed. All leaflets may be viewed as fully illustrated pdf files or as manuscripts in Word format, allowing passages of the texts to be copied for different purposes. For the majority of Commission publications, reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Readers who would prefer to have an actual paper copy simply press the ‘Single copy' button below every title and are invited to order their copy from either their local Europe Direct Centre (the UK currently has 30 spread all over the country) or visit yet another valuable website called the ‘EU Bookshop' .
EU Bookshop
EU Bookshop is where the needs of the general public meet with those of expert researchers looking for in-depth information on specialised topics. This website gives easy access to publications ranging from ‘What Scorching Weather' - a booklet for small children on the environment' to ‘How the European Union Works - Your Guide to the EU Institutions' to ‘Guidelines on Positive Environmental Initiatives to be Taken by the Fishing Sector' .
EU Bookshop is a valuable research tool for visitors from all walks of life and level of EU knowledge. An ever increasing number of publications, currently more than 25,000 not taking into account multiple language version, are only a few mouse-clicks away from interested readers. The European Union publishes in its 23 official languages but not all languages are ready at the same time. UK users are lucky because English is usually the manuscript language from which all other versions are translated.
EU Bookshop allows a thematic search according to 14 categories ranging from competition and education to statistics which, in turn, sub-divide into even more subcategories until you have found the best one to search for. Even easier is ‘search by words', where entering a phrase e.g. ‘your rights' brings up ‘Living, working, studying in another EU country' and a selection of similar brochures on the advantages of the internal market.
Every visitor to the EU Bookshop is able to order a single copy of this range of publications from the convenience of his/her own living room or office, but what if a lecturer on EU issues, a library or a teacher requires multiple copies of a brochure that they have found on the Easy Reading Corner or EU Bookshop?
Privileged Partners
For the benefit of providing resources to those much appreciated multipliers, a network of ‘Privileged Partners' has been created who have access to the bulk ordering facility of EU Bookshop. This allows them to order up to 100 copies of each title on a limited list, mostly containing brochures and posters for the general public.
Those privileged partners are Europe Direct Centres, European Documentation Centres dotted all over the UK and the four offices of the European Commission's representation in the United Kingdom.
So enthusiastic is the demand for EU information in the United Kingdom that, in 2007, about one third of all publications ordered via the EU Bookshop from privileged partners in the EU27 was delivered to recipients in the UK.
Multiple copies of brochures which are not on this bulk order list are not at all out of reach. All of the above contact points may obtain them from the relevant Directorates-General on a case-by-case basis depending upon stock availability.
Don't give up
If all of the above still seems complicated and aloof, none need despair! The European Commission's representation in the United Kingdom offers a selection of the most popular publications on its website http://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/information/publications/index_en.htm which is, at the same time, an interactive order form transmitting the orders to the publications manager (Judith.Schilling@ec.europa.eu) who is standing by to help find whatever publications seems of interest to UK readers.
There are also a few brochures published by the representation itself e.g. ‘The EU - What's in it for me?' or ‘Languages take you further' , which have proved to be the most popular of them all.
We have also started collecting advance orders for our newest product, the ‘Passport to the European Union' which is primarily meant for use in schools. It includes information on the 27 member countries of the European Union such as their size and population, famous citizens etc. as well as questions like: Whereabouts is the statue with more clothes than one would find in any woman's wardrobe? Did they really use eggs to built a bridge in Prague? Could there still be an island where no female, either human or animal, is allowed?
The booklet also includes stickers of coins, flags, buildings and even a map, and children can find places for the stickers in the passport and on the map.
To support Europe Day (9 May) activities for young people, the Representation of the European Commission in the United Kingdom is making 150,000 copies of the Passport to the European Union available to UK schools and similar organisations. Orders may be submitted via http://www.europe.org.uk/passport/ or http://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/information/publications/passport/passport_en.htm
What is best about our services? They are all completely free of charge!
Judith Schilling has been the Publications Manager at the Commission's London Representation since July 2006. Prior to coming to London, she was instrumental to the programme of seminars, fairs, lectures etc. for teachers and librarians at the Stockholm representation. Before that, she arranged selection procedures for scientific staff at the DG Research in Brussels. She speaks English, German, Swedish, and French (although recently neglected).
Having graduated from the German Federal Administrators College in 1987 she worked in various German administrations, leaving the German Foreign Service to join the European Commission in 1999. She can be contacted at judith.schilling@ec.europa.eu
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