Catchphrases, slogans, straplines and buzzwords are popular in EU Brussels. A magazine editor once wrote that he was told by an EU official that he ‘…did not have enough ‘buzzwords’ and proceeded to list various terms and phrases to sprinkle throughout…’  The editor said that the comment was ‘…emblematic of a general emphasis in European policy circles on formulating a catchy headline, alongside perhaps some flashy visuals, as a way of drawing attention but not stimulating constructive debate.’ 

But journalists know that the opposite is true – a former Wall Street Journal journalist wrote that his editor in New York said even the initials EU were the ‘kiss of death’ for a story.

That hasn’t stopped the EU coming up with its own brilliant slogans, buzz phrases, acronyms, and symbols. It was not so long ago that everybody knew that the ‘Lisbon Strategy’, the ‘Jobs and Growth Agenda’ and ‘Europe 2020’ were slogans for various economic growth plans. 

Following scandals and disillusionment, attempts were made to improve the workings of the EU. There was the ‘Better Regulation Initiative’, a call for more ‘subsidiarity’, and ‘transparency’ and for involving others through ‘multi-stakeholderism’. The EU tried to address the ‘Democratic Deficit’, and to build a ‘Social Europe’ that was ‘big on big things and small on small things’.

The emphasis changed in the last years to digital and the environment. The aim was to ‘make Europe fit for the digital age’, through ‘digital sovereignty’. The EU needed to achieve ‘resilience’ and ‘sustainable growth’, and it needed to consider the ‘circular economy’. The latest buzz phrase is ‘strategic autonomy’ – less reliance on existing and rising superpowers.

The countries who have the presidency of the EU also have slogans. Most of these are bland and meaningless.  Belgium had ‘protect, strengthen, prepare’, Hungary had ‘make Europe great again’, France ‘recovery, power and belonging’, the Czech Republic ‘rethink, rebuild, repower’, and the Netherlands ‘realism and ambition’.

Even the city of Brussels has a strap line: ‘Perfectly Imperfect’.