The European Union must communicate with one voice across 27 Member States, 24 official languages and radically different political and media environments. But how can European messages remain coherent while still resonating nationally, regionally and locally? Drawing on Richard Kühnel’s experience in diplomacy, EU institutions and Commission Representations in Austria and Germany, this session explores the Commission’s overall communication priorities as well as its strategies “on the ground” in Member States. The focuses on the difficult “last mile” of European communication, while presenting a coherent overall narrative. How should Brussels translate policy into local political realities, listen to citizens and feed national sentiment back into European decision-making? When should institutions explain, when should they engage in political contestation, and how can responsibility be shared with national governments, parties, media and civil society? A practical discussion about turning institutional communication into genuine public connection.