COMMUNICATING THE EU’S CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE AND RECOVERY WHAT MEMBER STATES CAN DO Version: 24 June 2020 “We will stay united, through thick and thin. We will show each other solidarity in times of need and we will always stand together. We can and we will speak with one voice. (…) We will continue to listen to the concerns and hopes of all Europeans, bringing the Union closer to our citizens, and we will act accordingly, with ambition and determination.” Sibiu Leaders’ Declaration of 9 May 2019 The European Commission invites Member States to use the information below to complement and reinforce their communication on the EU’s Coronavirus response and recovery. You will find relevant links to online resources and communication assets, stories and examples that you are free to use. The document also includes contact details for your questions and suggestions. It is meant to contribute to improving the coordination of our communication between the EU institutions and Member States – as discussed in the Council’s Working Party on Information. The document will be regularly updated. 1

Commission Coronavirus response site The site encloses various sections dedicated to specific areas of crisis response and recovery. The content is continuously updated on a daily basis and available in all EU languages. To date it has attracted over 3 million views already. Member States can cross-link from all Coronavirus-relevant sites to the Commission Coronavirus response site. Central hubs for Corona information can be shared and featured on the Commission website. Measures taken at EU level that affect Member States can also be communicated using examples such as:    Recovery Plan for Europe To mobilise the necessary investments for Europe’s recovery, the Commission has put forward a two-fold response: a new recovery instrument ‘Next Generation EU’ and a reinforced long-term EU budget for 2021-2027. The nature and impact of the related policies, programmes and initiatives will be communicated through an EU recovery campaign. It will focus on the recovery and the post-crisis reality (socio-economic aspects, building resilience, research leading to finding vaccines and treatments, global response, etc.) rather than on the immediate health crisis management. Updates on assets and progress of the campaign will be shared on a dedicated wiki page managed by the European Commission (DG COMM Corporate Campaign Team) that will be set up with the launch of the campaign on the ground (July).    Coronavirus Global Response Where a global power such as the U.S. was missing, the EU took the lead and has so far raised 9.8 billion EUR for the development and universal deployment of 1 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines against the coronavirus. The pledging marathon continues and Member States can promote it.    The information is on a dedicated, EU branded website.    On     social    media     the    following  hashtags     can     be     used: #UnitedAgainstCoronavirus as well as #GlobalResponse #StrongerTogether #NextGenerationEU    Video testimonials can be shared. Those are added regularly on the EUtube playlist and are also available on the Commission’s Audio-visual portal.    What began on 4 May will culminate in a final Global Pledging Summit hosted by Commission President von der Leyen on 27 June. 1 Amount raised by 2 June 2020 2

 EU medical and health support There are a number of EU instruments (rescEU, Emergency Support Instrument, Joint Procurements, the Civil Protection Mechanism etc.) that support Member States financially for very concrete things, such as medical teams, masks, disinfectants and other protective equipment. Member States are vital in communicating on deliveries. The Commission would suggest for each Member State to nominate a central contact point to which upcoming deliveries and communication activities can be flagged, in order to better coordinate communication. On the Commission side, Member States can contact SG-CRISIS-COMMUNICATION@ec.europa.eu who will liaise with the respective services.  State aid cases Every day the Commission applies maximum flexibility to authorise state aid supporting businesses in difficulty because of the Corona crisis. The daily cases per country are available on this page.  EU support to companies and workers Besides significant national efforts, sizeable EU tools have been and are being put in place to support companies, protect livelihoods and jumpstart the economy. Financial assistance from these instruments – such as SURE to support short-time work schemes, EIB Group financing to SMEs, and eventually support for the recovery under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Solvency Support Instrument and InvestEU – will now be gradually rolled out. Member States are encouraged to get in touch with the Commission (ECFIN- RECOVERY-COMMUNICATION@ec.europa.eu) to flag on-the-ground examples of EU support benefitting companies and workers, and to coordinate communication efforts.  European solidarity in action On a daily basis, the Commission gives an overview of how many stranded EU citizens have been brought home by Member States other than their own, with EU support. The latest statistics can be found on this dedicated section. Member States can use those as concrete examples when communicating on EU solidarity, also using the hashtag #EUSolidarity in the messages. Member States can get in touch with the Commission (ECHO-COMM- CP@ec.europa.eu or SG-CRISIS-COMMUNICATION@ec.europa.eu who will pass on the message) in case EU visibility material/items is/are needed. The EU flag can be displayed on the material alongside national emblems or other logos.  Re-open EU (launched on 15 June 2020) The Commission has developed an online platform with an interactive map that centralises information provided by Member States through the Integrated Political Crisis Response platform to help free movement and tourism flourish in Europe. A link to Re-open EU can be added to relevant websites, such as the foreign ministry and national tourism websites: https://reopen.europa.eu. 3

  Action against disinformation A specific section of the Coronavirus response website is dedicated to fighting disinformation. It includes debunks of the most widespread coronavirus myths, frequently updated and available in all EU languages in a format that is easy to share on third parties websites and social media channels. As highlighted in the recent Joint Communication from the European Commission and the High Representative on tackling COVID19 disinformation, cooperation between the EU institutions and Member States is essential to ensure consistency of message and coherence of effort. Suggestions for additional myths to tackle and comments on possible synergies can be sent through the Rapid Alert System by the Member States’ disinformation contact points, or directly to COMM-DISINFORMATION- TEAM@ec.europa.eu   Audio-visual material Illustration footage of the impact on daily life of Coronavirus in various EU Member States and beyond is available in this dedicated section. This material can be used while communicating on what the EU does to fight and recover from the Coronavirus.   Inter-institutional hub page on the EU’s common response to COVID-19 A dedicated page on the inter-institutional EU website that helps navigation to further content of all EU institutions regarding the crisis response. WIKI Visuals and templates are available on the Social media wiki – an online content library managed by the Commission. The public pages of the wiki are accessible by anyone who uses EU login (you can easily create an account using your email, if you do not have one already). On the wiki, you will find a variety of ready to use visuals in English, as well as editable visual templates that allow you to easily translate or create new content in your own language. You will also find useful links, contacts and additional information about the Commission calendar. REPRESENTATIONS IN MEMBER STATES Cooperate with Commission Representations, working together with the European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLOs), in order to have bigger communication impact and find synergies and efficiencies in EU related communication activities (joint press and stakeholder events, campaigns and media projects, jointly produced information materials (on national impact of the recovery plan, examples of EU benefits of the EU action to the Member State, etc.). The staff of the Commission and the Parliament on the ground have the best overview on which EU communication products could be the most useful and relevant in each Member State. 4

ADDITIONAL CONTACT POINTS  The Commission has established a Corporate Communication Task Force on the Coronavirus, which meets regularly and is a direct response to the need to ensure coherence between political responses to the Coronavirus outbreak and communication. You can contact the task force via the below email address: COMM-TASK-FORCE-COVID19@ec.europa.eu  Answering citizens’ enquiries about the EU Member States are invited to inform citizens about the existence of the Europe Direct Contact Centre, the Commission’s help line for any EU-related questions from citizens, including on the crisis response and recovery. It provides answers in 24 official languages. Call the EU (free phone from EU Member States): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11. Other contact possibilities here. All EU digital content can also be checked on the various EU social media accounts. Please note that many of the titles above contain hyperlinks. This document was compiled by the European Commission, DG Communication, unit B.2, contact: COMM-TOGETHER@ec.europa.eu 5