The EU needs a clear information policy. It already disposes of huge soft power. Otherwise, why would irregular immigrants and refugees wish to reach its territories to live and find refuge there? The European Union is now finding that its presence, policies and achievements are being countered by manipulative propaganda programmes. However, the best way to counter them is not by developing similar mechanisms, even if we wrap them in highly virtuous declarations of intent. Even less should they be meant to contain the aims of this or that power, no matter how antagonistic it may seem to have become. This is especially so given the fact that the EU’s soft power is still very effective. What we need is a sober assessment of the current scope and reach of the EU’s soft power, not least in its impact on societies outside the EU, and in whether it is projecting distorted images of the European reality. Secondly we need a revamp carried out in good faith of the EU’s information and dissemination policies that projects a no-holds-barred view of the European reality, both for internal and external consumption. This report does not provide adequate basis for such an exercise.

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