My speech at the Berlaymont reception on 28 Feb 2005

MOVING ON….

Niels Jørgen Thøgersen’s speech at his reception in Berlaymont on 28 Feb 2005

First of all, heartily welcome to this reception, which I am very happy to organise tonight – my last night in the European Commission. It is a great day for me, and it gives me a lot of pleasure that so many colleagues and friends have turned up here.

Why do I want to leave the Commission NOW?

There are at least four reasons:

• all my main communication projects have been finalised or are now so mature and grown up that I am not needed to be around any more. My excellent colleagues will handle them and develop them further
• at the same time it is very satisfactory to know that our new political masters, and not least Vice-President Margot Wallström are giving a very strong political support to all these projects. They will, therefore, have a bright future – being a very important part of the Commission’s communication activities also in the future
• tomorrow morning I have worked exactly 32 years in the Commission – first 15 in Copenhagen and now 17 here. This means that it is time to try new challenges and to get going with the second half of my life
• furthermore, I prefer to leave and start in a new “life-gear” while I still feel that I am in full speed. And while many of you say, “Oh, what I pity that you are leaving – we will miss you!”. I do not want to wait until you all say: “Finally, he leaves!”

And if you asked me for a few reflections after all those years – what would I say?

1) First of all, we have to realise that everybody – and I mean everybody – in the Commission are very important for our communication work. For good – and for bad. And not only DG PRESS. Each and every colleague in any DG has a direct influence on the image, which we have in the general public. If she or he is nice and helpful we all look better. And if he or she is negative, do not answer letters or mails or don’t pay bills on time – then we are all in trouble. I strongly believe that you have to find a way to make each and every official understand that. I even think that some of the resources for training should be used to train our colleagues in exactly that. It is not a question of making everybody specialists in communication. But to make them the nice, friendly and efficient “Eurocrats” they are paid to be!

2) Get out there to REAL people. Meet them. Discuss with them. Tell them what we are doing. Show them where they can find more information, if they want. I very much believe that every official has a clear-cut duty to speak to our visitors. I know that we are all busy. But what is more important than telling the people, who pay our salaries, what we are doing – and to listen to them. Furthermore, you always LEARN something from such meetings. And this is perhaps not too bad either! Finally, imagine how many people we all meet privately. Millions a year. Why not see it as very important also to tell them about what we are doing and ask them for their views and advice. Involve people. Give them ownership. That’s the way ahead.

3) When the media are concerned – let’s get out of the “Brussels Beltway syndrome”. There is a tendency to believe that we have done a great job, if we have managed to get an article in the Financial Times, in Le Monde or in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. They are great newspapers – yes. But they are not the papers citizens read. They are VERY small in the wider context. TV, radio and big regional newspapers are much more important for the public at large. And they have credibility; they are positively interested in EU affairs, if they can see the relevance for their area. Something really new and efficient has to be done in this area. The new communication means like satellite conferences, web casting and on-line training sites must be part of the solution.

4) And you should be much more open also to go into Infotainment and Edutainment. They are not smart and fancy words from the other side of the Atlantic. They are real factors in modern communication. Getting factual information out via entertainment and education. Get interactive communication going that way. Involving citizens. Exciting citizens. And citizens, which we very rarely reach in any other way.

5) The power of humour in communication is very, very important. You can get a lot of messages and facts across, if you do it with a smile and a glimpse in your eye. Being too serious turns people off. And confirms their prejudices that “Brussels people live in their own ivory tower”. Make sure that people go away in a “feel good” mood.

6) And don’t forget that almost all of our 450 million citizens do not care, if it is the Commission, the Council, the Parliament, etc., who inform and communicate with them. They are interested in the EU. Basta. Therefore, we have a solid duty to work closely together in as many fields as possible. I am very proud of the formal and efficient cooperation we have now established with our colleagues in the Council concerning EUROPE DIRECT and the coming multimedia centre INFO POINT EUROPE on Rond Point Schuman. Now we are just waiting for other institutions to join – nobody mentioned, nobody forgotten!

7) All in all: Make it interesting. Make it motivating. Make it fun. Make it happen! Go for it!

Thank you all for a great friendship, great projects, and a great time together. I always was a strong believer in the importance of the cocktail: make your colleagues at work also your very good friends. Then nobody can beat you.

It has been fantastic. We did not always agree – and fortunately so. But we got results. And we enjoyed it.

I very much hope to keep in contact with you. Therefore, I have made a new “non-business card”, which you can find on the table over there. Or my personal Blog: http://kimbrer.blogspot.com

And finally you might ask: What are you going to do now?

Every ending is also a new beginning!

• No new permanent jobs
• No new permanent commitments
• But perhaps getting somewhat involved in a few tempting projects related to modern communication and to Europe. My attitude is: if somebody asks for my advice I certainly will give it, if I have one. But I don’t want to be responsible. Neither to be ir-responsible. I want to be somewhat in between. Perhaps it should be called “a-responsible”!
• And one thing more: you don’t have to be employed in the European Commission to fight for Europe. So ……
• But first and foremost I will enjoy my new freedom to do what perhaps has been put aside until now: write, read, enjoy beautiful nature, travel, see family and friends, continue my genealogy, see films, play with new communication gadgets – and also from time to time concentrate on doing nothing!
• And one thing more (change to Harley-Davidson jacket): drive smoothly and quietly across the Belgian landscape surrounded by wonderful flowers and friendly singing birds! I only have this very small H-D at the moment (show the small “toy H-D”). But I am watering it every day, so I hope it will soon grow bigger!

Thank you very much! SKAAL!