IP/07/383
Brussels, 22 March 2007
How the EU changed the life of Europeans? New website and booklet underline the added value of European integration to citizens
Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the European Commission launched today a website and accompanying booklet, ‘50 Ways Forward – Europe’s Best Successes’, to highlight the importance of the European Union for citizens. The project complements a range of 50th anniversary events and publications.
Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström, responsible for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy commented on the project: "The best way to demonstrate the added value of the European Union to citizens is through concrete examples of European actions that have contributed to better quality of life, mobility, cleaner environment, security and prosperity."
‘50 Ways Forward’ aims to show how European citizens benefit from the European Union. The stories are written in a lively style, which assumes no prior knowledge on the part of the reader. The stories range from the new ‘.eu’ web address, building a European identity on the internet, to cheaper air tickets helping European competitiveness and mobility. There are stories about how European police catch more criminals by working better together, how we got cleaner cars and even how you can travel more easily with your dog or cat.
50 Ways Forward – Europe’s best successes, comes in two formats:
- A website, presented as a virtual gallery tour. Browsers search the floor plan of a virtual museum of European success. Visitors choose a success story from a range of attractive pictures on a wall, just like in a real art gallery. Some stories even have a link to a short video to illustrate the message further. Each story has at least one web link for visitors who want to learn more.
- A free 50 Ways Forward booklet, which includes the same text as the website and follows the gallery concept, but comes in an easy-to-carry format.
Visit the 50 Ways Forward website at: http://europa.eu/success50
