Madrid organiseert een Europese conferentie over de publieke opinie in Europa (en)

The conference will be chaired by Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy. Commissioner Joaquín Almunia will also address the conference.

"Understanding European public opinion" conference will bring together representatives of opinion research institutes and academics from almost all European countries who analyse public opinion in Europe. The conference aims at developing a still better understanding of the formation of European public opinion. Commenting on the purpose of the conference, Ms Wallstrom i said:" European Union should listen to the public. EU policies must be anchored in people's expectations. This is why we want to discuss in Madrid how to put the opinion polls at the service of the European democracy and European citizens ".

The conference will start at 9:30 h at the Hotel Intercontinental (address?). Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Institutional Relations will introduce the conference participants to the topic. She will be accompanied by Joaquín Almunia, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice-President of the European Parliament in charge of Information and Communication Policy, and Rosa Conde, President of the Carolina Foundation and former spokesperson of the government of Felipe González, as well as the Spanish State Secretary for the European Union, Alberto Navarro.

The main objective of the conference is to contribute to the European communication policy and to develop new forms of co-operation between the European institutions and Member States in accordance the approach adopted in the Commission's "White Paper on a European Communication Policy" launched in February 2006. The conference explores venues of potential cooperation among pollsters, national governments, EU institutions and the academic world in order to better anticipate and understand trends in public opinion on issues of crucial importance for the future of Europe.

In six workshops more than 40 international experts will present the latest findings on the role and the use of opinion polls within democratic and political processes. the specificity and complexity of European public opinion or the best practise in comparative surveys.

With this conference the European Commission wishes to enter into an enhanced dialogue with citizens and experts. The European Commission has been a front runner in developing modern tools - such as the Eurobarometer surveys - for analysing European public opinion. In fact, the Eurobarometer is a service, set up in 1973, which measures and analyses trends in public opinion in all the member states and in the candidate countries. Knowing what the general public thinks is important in helping the European Commission draft its legislative proposals, take decisions and evaluate its work. Eurobarometer uses both opinion polls and focus groups. Its surveys lead to the publication of around 100 reports every year.