Nav 5-1: How the Commission uses public opinion

Length	Browsing: 15 minutes Reporting: 25 minutes (500-1500 words)
Goal	To find out how the European Commission uses public opinion surveys. To familiarize yourself with the press release website of the European Commission.
Introduction	The European Commission regularly conducts public opinion surveys using its Eurobarometer infrastructure. In this exercise, you will find out how these surveys reappear in statements of the Commission makes about EU policies in its press releases.
Steps	Go to the European Commission Press Corner. In the search field, enter ‘Survey’ and/or ‘Eurobarometer’. Select a Commission press release in which reference is made to the Eurobarometer or other surveys in connection with policies and/or results of a public opinion survey are reported (in most cases this is a Eurobarometer survey). Make sure to find an item where there is more than just reporting results and clear links are made with policies. Please provide relevant quotation that proves this.
Questions	Summarize the press release and indicate how the Commission employs the survey results and why they are referring to it. Please provide clear evidence of the Commission explicitly referring to EU policies in the context of the survey results. Do you think the survey results provide relevant information for the policy at hand? Is public opinion relevant for this policy issue? In your report, please include the link to the press release used.
Links	http://europa.eu/press_room/index_en.htm

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