ANNEX Work Programme for 2021 in the field of Communication ‘Members of the Commission will aim to strengthen the links between people and the institutions that serve them, to narrow the gap between expectation and reality and to communicate about what Europe is doing. (…) Members of the Commission will take part in Citizens’ Dialogues across the Union, notably to prepare the Conference on the Future of Europe. (…) External communication is anchored in the principle of collegiality and under the leadership of the President. To be effective, it must be focused on the political and strategic priorities of the College as a whole.1’ Part I – General Overview: Political Context The European Commission’s communication activities fall within its political autonomy as an institution and its institutional prerogatives2. Political communication in recent years has become more demanding and sophisticated, and the multifaceted COVID-19 crisis has added even more complexity to communicating about EU policies in general and the twin transition to a greener and more digital EU. As a political institution, the European Commission has to navigate the ever-changing media and communications environment, adapting its communication approaches, messages and services to major developments in the consumption and production of information in the digital age. The Commission’s communication activities must therefore become even more agile, flexible and innovative in order to be relevant and engaging for citizens, Member States, civil society and other stakeholders, and to support the Commission in giving new impetus to the post-crisis recovery and to European democracy. Key points of reference for the work of DG Communication over the coming five years are the Political Guidelines 2019-2024: A Union that strives for more, as presented to the European Parliament on 16 July 2019, and the President’s State of the Union Address delivered in the European Parliament on 16 September 2020. The emphasis in the Political Guidelines was on a more inclusive and open approach that should apply equally to communication about the European Union. The State of the Union Address developed the three strands of protection, stability and opportunity and underlined the different ways NextGenerationEU will enable the EU not only to ‘repair and recover for the here and now, but to shape a better way of living for the world of tomorrow’. Policy and communication are two sides of the same coin. In its contribution to the EU’s new strategic agenda for 2019-20243, the Commission laid down, for the first time, a set of recommendations on communication at the service of citizens and democracy. This provides a solid platform for the future 1 P(2019) 2 of 1 December 2019 - The Working Methods of the European Commission. 2 Article 58(2)(d) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1046/2018. 3 COM(2019) 218 of 30 April 2019. 1 work of DG Communication in the recovery phase after the COVID-19 crisis, when communicating effectively across a whole continent at a time of increasing fragmentation and disinformation is becoming ever more challenging. For 2021, DG Communication is committed to increasing engagement and interaction with citizens by: continuing to provide state-of-the-art communication products and services to the President and to the Commissioners; supporting the Commission’s policy deliverables with modern and innovative communication products and services. As 2021 is the first year of the new multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 and the NextGenerationEU recovery package, there is a need to communicate the Commission’s core messages with even more clarity, focusing on concrete actions that are important for Europeans. DG Communication will continue to disseminate the COVID-19 recovery campaign and stimulate the debate on the Conference on the Future of Europe, tackling new challenges posed by disinformation and working closely with other institutions. Therefore, the 2021 Work Programme of DG Communication focuses on supporting: the main political and strategic priorities identified in the Political Guidelines; the priorities of the European Commission as specified in the Commission Work Programme 2021 and in the Strategic Plan of the Directorate-General for Communication 2020-2024. As ‘Europe chooses to reach out’4, and as the domain leader for external communication5, DG Communication will contribute continuously to achieving further consistency among communication activities across the Commission. It will do so, in particular, through the corporate campaigns, by streamlining the Commission’s overall approach to communication procurement, by continuing to centralise communication framework contracts, by transforming the Commission’s web presence and through its leading role in the Corporate Communication Steering Committee and the Communication Network. The COVID-19 pandemic has a real and potential impact on DG Communication’s operations, particularly citizens-focused physical events or activities, such as the operation of the Visitors’ Centre or the Citizens’ Dialogues. If the funds allocated to these or other activities cannot be spent as planned, the flexibility clause provided for in Article 3 of the Decision gives DG Communication the necessary flexibility to shift up to 20% of the total work programme amount from one budget line to another to fund communication activities that are likely to be more effective in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. 4 State of the Union Address 2020, 16 September 2020. 5 SEC (2016)170 of 4 April 2016 and C(2019) 2329 of 26 March 2019. 2 Part II – Grants, Prizes and Procurements 1. Introduction Based on the objectives and expected results in the budgetary remarks under Heading 2B ‘Investing in Competitiveness, People and Values’, Title 07 20 04 in the ‘Draft Budget of the European Union for the financial year 2021’6 and the objectives set out in the Strategic Plan of DG Communication 2021- 20247, this work programme contains the actions to be financed and the budget breakdown for 2021 (in EUR): Budget line Activity Grants Prizes Procurement TOTAL (point 2) (point 3) (point 4) 07 20 04 02 Executive and 47 105 200 47 105 200 Corporate Communication Services 07 20 04 03 Commission 940 000 85 300 26 330 700 27 356 000 Representations 07 20 04 04 Communication 15 000 000 17 228 600 32 228 600 Services for Citizens TOTAL 15 940 000 85 300 90 664 500 106 689 800 Legal Basis: The European Commission’s communication activities fall within its political autonomy as an institution and its institutional prerogatives8. Funds will be delegated to the Directorate-General for Informatics from two of the budget lines mentioned in the above table, to be implemented through service contracts. Specifically, budget line 07 20 04 02 will contribute to the corporate IT budget with EUR 2 355 200 and budget line 07 20 04 04 with EUR 1 611 430, as per the Communication to the Commission on the Guidelines on Financing of Information Technology and Cybersecurity (IT) (C(2020) 6126 of 10 September 2020). 6 COM(2020)250/3 of 24 June 2020. 7 This refers to the mission statement of DG Communication as broken down in the objectives of its Strategic Plan 2021- 2024 and the relevant management plans. Specific objective 1: College and services use country-specific intelligence, Eurobarometer results, media analysis and stakeholders’/citizens’ feedback to inform political decision-making; Specific objective 2: College receives strategic advice on communicating the political priorities and on media landscapes in the Member States; Specific objective 3: Corporate communication of the Commission’s political priorities is aligned across the Commission’s departments; Specific objective 4: Meaningful and tailored messages, focused on the Commission’s political priorities, are communicated to citizens, media, multipliers and stakeholders; Specific objective 5: Citizens engage with the EU through face-to-face events and online interactive platforms, such as the Conference on the Future of Europe, thus stimulating the sharing of EU values and interest in and ownership of EU topics. 8 See footnote 2. 3 2. Grants The global budgetary envelope for grants under this work programme is EUR 15 940 000: Budget line Activity Available appropriations (EUR) 2.1 07 20 04 04 Information Centres 15 000 000 2.2 07 20 04 03 Communication of Representations 940 000 2.1 Information Centres EUR 15 000 000 Initially, the current generation of Europe Direct Information Centres (EDICs) was scheduled to end operations on 31 December 20209. However, the call for proposals published in 2020, which aimed to recruit the new generation of centres, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2018-2020 generation of EDICs was therefore extended until 30 April 2021 and the 2020 specific grant agreements were prolonged accordingly. This budget line also covers possible evaluation(s) and professionalisation of the communication activities described below. 2.1.1 EUROPE DIRECT generation10 2021-2025 Description, objectives pursued and expected results EUROPE DIRECT, together and in synergy with other EU outreach networks, remains the fundamental instrument for the EU to reach out to citizens at regional and local level. In 2021, EUROPE DIRECT’s activities will focus on the Commission’s priorities as set out in the Political Guidelines 2019-2024: A Union that strives for more and the Commission Work Programme 2021. Objectives EUROPE DIRECT’s mission and objectives are: (1) to inform and engage with citizens at