§ Mr. TrendTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the(a) mandate and (b) budget of the Centre for Citizens and the Media in DGX. [49646]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonThe centre for citizens and the media and DGX aims to increase dialogue between the Commission and the general public and journalists. It is responsible for: organising programmes for groups visiting the Commission (over 34,000 people in 1997); selecting sponsored visitors from third countries (with the EP); managing the public inquiries service "Europe Direct"; setting up a Commission call centre to respond to telephone inquiries; managing the Commission's internal databases; training speakers available to give talks on the EU and the euro; supporting training on European affairs for journalists; developing links between twinned towns. The centre's budget for 1998 is 4.9 mecu (£3.26 million at current prices). It manages an additional 10 mecu (£6.66 million) for town-twinning projects.