The European elections, starting today, have not led to a boost in MEPs' use of the Internet and most of them still believe traditional forms of communication, such as television or newspapers, are more effective, a survey has shown.

A large majority of parliamentarians – some 75 percent – use a web page to communicate with their voters, and they also rely heavily on the Internet for research (93% use search engines daily, especially Google, to understand legislative issues).

MEPs need to make sure they use the internet extensively to communicate with their electorate, says the study (Photo: printing.com)

But many of them have to still open up to social online media, such as Facebook or Twitter, a survey by communication consultancy Fleishman-Hillard has found.

Thirty-three percent of MEPs use the social media networks "extensively" and 20 percent – occasionally, but 29 percent "do not use them or do not plan to use them."

As many as 62 percent of them have either never heard of Twitter (a micro-blogging service where short messages or ‘tweets' are posted) or have no plans to use it, while only 24 percent of MEPs use a blog extensively. Of these, only 26 percent update it regularly (once a week) and comment on other blogs.

"Members of the European Parliament recognise that EU citizens go online and that they therefore need a web presence. However, the majority of MEPs do not currently take full advantage of social media tools as a means to engage with voters and drive them to their websites," the survey said.

Television appearances remain the most effective tool of communication for practically all of the deputies asked (94%), followed by speaking at events (82%) and one-on-one meetings (79%).

By contrast, blogging or micro-blogging, as well as the use of online videos, are seen as among the least effective tools. Some 51 percent of MEPs believe blogs to be "very effective" or "effective," and 46 percent have this opinion of online videos.

"At a time when the average European spends 9 hours a week online and 66.8 percent of people on the internet use social networks... MEPs need to make sure that they are communicating in this space in order to remain relevant," the survey recommended.

"The internet can offer a cost-effective and personal way to reach out to voters and can increase the effectiveness of traditional forms of communication."

Socialists most active

Among the three biggest groups in the European Parliament – the socialist PES, the centre-right EPP-ED and the liberal ALDE – the Socialists have been the most active in using online technology.

They are followed by ALDE, with the EPP-ED coming last.

Some 94 percent of Socialists have personal websites, compared to 83 percent of Liberals and Christian Democrats. Online videos have been used by 63 percent of the PES parliamentarians, 61 percent of the ALDE ones and 42 percent of the EPP-ED.

The biggest group in the parliament, the EPP-ED, has also been the least active in terms of using search engines for marketing purposes. Only 22 percent of its MEPs have done so, compared to 25 percent for ALDE and 40 percent for the PES.

"The Party of European Socialists... leads both the European People's Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in utilising online technology... From using Facebook to Flickr, Twitter to Digg [a social bookmarking site], PES members are more likely to be an ‘early adopters' than members of either of the other two major parties," the study said.

The Fleishman-Hillard survey was carried from 1 April to 1 May and 110 MEPs representative of the parliament's groups and nationalities responded to it.