Working on clarity at the European Commission

Clarity breakfastMalachy Hargadon

8 October 2015European Commission Representation in the UK

Unclear writing in the EU

Hurry Jo

SESAR JU

Fubar

Unclear writing in the EU

• Council Resolution of 8 June 1993 on the quality of drafting of Community legislation • 1. the wording of the act should be

clear, simple, concise and unambiguous; unnecessary abbreviations, 'Community jargon' and excessively long sentences should be avoided

A never-ending story

• 1997 - Fight the fog – DG Translation

• Editing service

• To improve the quality of Commission documents and websites, making sure the language is clear, correct and concise, and hence more readable and translatable.

A never-ending story

• White paper on a European communication policy (2006)• Parliament resolution:

Recommends that the Commission use clear and concise language when communicating with the media and citizens, and that it does so systematically in the official languages of their Member State of origin or residence; believes that EU jargon increases rather than closes the gap between the EU institutions and citizens

Moving towards the clear writing campaign

• DG Translation takes the initiative • 2007 ad hoc group: Secretariat-General, Legal

Service, DG Communication, DG Administration, DG Translation

• 2009 survey

What do we edit?

• Multiplier documents - impact

• Policy papers

• Documents for translation

• Documents for a wide readership

When we edit documents - the specifics

• Target audience – who is the reader? What do they want to know? Is the register suitable?

• Language – does the spelling, punctuation, grammar, style conform to good English usage and Commission rules?

• Clarity – clear writing principles to make the text easier to read

• Consistency – terminology, headings, hyphens, capitals• • Structure and flow – length, duplication/repetition

• ---------------------------------• Non-linguistic problems – references, names of bodies/people (accents/diacritics),

formatting

Clear writing campaign aims

o Campaign launched in 2010

o Encourage everyone in the European Commission to write more clearly

o Shorter, simpler documents, less jargono Improve the impact of the message o Help to improve the EU’s public imageo Contribute to better regulation

Campaign resources & activities

• 'How to write clearly' booklet in all official languages

• Interactive website – Writers' toolbox, clear writing tips, helpline

• Clear Writing Awards• Online tutorial • Training targeted to specific document types -

and online training

Who we train

• Authors of document 'packages' that will come to us for editing

• Units/groups on request• Interested staff

Training demand increasing • 10 sessions in 2014 13 in first half 2015• Packages: enlargement,

small business act• Second half 2015: European

Semester country report teams

How we give training • By unit • Max 20 participants• Half-day• Tailored to unit's/group's

specific needs and weaknesses

• Shorter sessions upon request • Training also provided by HR

Training content

• '10 top tips' of How to write clearly • Examples from Claire's Clear Writing Tips• George Orwell's rules for authors• Internal style guides• What to avoid! • Frequent oral and written exercises• Key issues arising from unit's/group's output • Solutions to these issues• Guidance document for teams drafting packages

The most common problems with Commission texts

abbreviations + eurojargon

passiveverbs

nouns not verbs

abstractlanguage

long

poor structure

Example: Shorter sentences are clearer!

• Against this background, the Union and its Member States should take action to ensure that citizens have access to clean water and that water abstraction respects available renewable water resource limits, by 2020, with a view to maintaining, achieving or enhancing good water status in accordance with the Water Framework Directive, including by improving water efficiency through the use of market mechanisms such as water pricing that reflects the true value of water, as well as other tools, such as education and awareness raising. (84 words)

• Against this background, the Union and its Member States should take action to ensure the public has access to clean water.

• They should also ensure that, by 2020, water abstraction respects limits on the renewable water resources available.

• The goal of such action is to maintain, achieve or improve good water status in accordance with the Water Framework Directive.

• This should be done by improving the efficiency of water use by employing market mechanisms, such as pricing that reflects the true value of water.

• Other tools, such as education and awareness-raising, should also be used.

Example: Some tidying up…• In the reporting period, there

have been 17 (compared to 8 last year) first instance convictions for organised crimes, including 12 for drugs trafficking, 4 for smuggling of cigarettes, 1 for facilitating irregular migration. In 5 of the drugs case, perpetrators were also convicted for money laundering. 8 people have been convicted on appeal. Nine persons were acquitted after standing trial on organised crime cases.

• In the reporting period, there were 17 first-instance convictions for organised crime(s), against 8 the previous year.

• Twelve of the convictions were for drugs trafficking, 4 for cigarette smuggling and 1 for aiding illegal migration.

• In 5 of the drugs cases, the perpetrators were also convicted of money laundering.

• Eight people were convicted on appeal. Nine were acquitted after standing trial on organised crime charges.

Better Regulation (May 2015)

• Commission calls on European Parliament and the Council to:• Commit to better legal drafting so that

EU laws should be ‘correct, comprehensible, clear, and consistent — so that everyone understands their rights and obligations easily and with certainty’.