How to contact the EU Institutions and their officials

Contents
	Information offices of the European parliament
	The European Parliament and the Members of the European Parliament – petitions
	Contacting the European Commission
	How to contact the European Ombudsman
	SOLVIT

The European Commission is called upon, in complete independence, to protect the interests of the EU as a whole. The Commission reports to the European Parliament. The Commission alone is responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation. It also ensures the implementation of the EU policies, guarantees the implementation of the budget, manages the programmes of the EU, represents the EU in international negotiations, and ensures the proper implementation of the treaties.

There are Commission Representation offices in each EU member state. In countries that are not members of the EU, the European Commission has delegations, whose status is diplomatic.

The main task of a Representation Office is to assist the communication between the government of the relevant state and the European Commission. It also provides information to the public and to the media on the implementation of the European Commission activities, and also about its targets, programmes and projects. The Representation informs the European Commission about the processes and developments in the country where it is located.

The Commission Representation offices located in the EU member states are integral part of the Press and Communication Service of the Directorate General Communication in Brussels.

The Commission Representation offices ensure not only the direct contact of the Commission with the local politicians but also with the citizens, while contributing for the effective information flow between the Commission, other EU and national institutions, and the media.

The representations organize and host public information events on topical EU issues. At the representations citizens can receive information and printed materials, commissioned by, or published by the EU institutions. The representations also work closely with the other EU information networks and centres that work for the benefit of the European citizens.

The function of the representations is mainly informative. If you wish to participate actively in shaping the public agenda, here we present some of the instruments, through which the EC enables the citizens to participate in the decision making processes.

In each EU member state there are Europe Direct Centres.  You can find the nearest one to you on: 

http://europedirect.europa.eu

Europe Direct staff will answer questions about the European Union on the spot, or will redirect the citizens to the institutions in charge of their inquiry. Europe Direct Centers also maintain rich funds of information materials, many of which are distributed for free to all comers. Throughout the year at the Europe Direct centres are held various events - from trainings for specific target groups to celebration parties.

Europe Direct Contact Centre is a service that gives answers to your questions, concerning  the European Union. You can reach it toll-free from within the EU on telephone: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11; or paid, from outside the EU on: +32 22999696; You can also use the Internet address: http://europedirect.europa.eu

The official directory of the European Union "EU Whoiswho" enables the European citizens to contact a specific employee from an institution, or become familiar with the organizational scheme of the institutions, bodies and agencies, in all official languages of the Union. The Directory is updated weekly.

 "EU Whoiswho" allows you to search the directory in three ways:

• by person
• by organisational entity
• by hierarchy

Among the main objectives of the EU is to be accessible to the citizens, to contribute to their prosperity and to guarantee their rights. Therefore, it is understandable that among the aspirations of the EU institutions is the inclusion of as many EU citizens as possible in the shaping of the the policy objectives in the EU agenda.

The website Your Voice in Europe is the European Commission’s “single access point” to a wide variety of consultations, discussions and other tools, which enable you to play an active role in the European policy-making process.

The website is available in all official languages of the European Union. However, when clicking on some items you may be redirected to other websites of the European Commission, which for various reasons, are only available in certain languages. Some documents for consultation, aimed at specialized audiences, are not always published in all languages. Answers and opinions, however, are accepted in all EU languages, unless the consultation documents themselves explicitly state otherwise.

When participating in consultations with serious and reasoned opinion, you can be sure that you take part in the shaping of the EU policy and initiatives. Another opportunity that the website offers is participating in discussions with citizens from all member states and other countries, on topics of your daily life.

Besides the already presented instruments for getting in touch with EU institutions, you can also contact your representative in:

• The Committee of the Regions – a representative of the local authority in your country;
• The European Economic and Social Committee – Represents civil society, employers and employees