The Europe Direct Contact Centre (EDCC) is a unique service, responding in all official European Union languages to questions from individual citizens on every aspect of EU policies, activities and institutions. At the same time, it provides the Union itself with an unparalleled source of fine-grained, real-time intelligence about the interests and concerns expressed spontaneously by its citizens. Through phone calls and emails, people can get answers to general questions related to the EU, recommendations on the best sources of EU information in relation to a specific question, information on rights and opportunities at European level for EU citizens, information about European integration, history, symbols, institutions, and also free postal delivery of certain EU publications. A web chat facility complements this service and helps citizens to get online assistance in their search for credible EU information. The majority of questions can be answered on the spot. The most frequent topics raised over the last quarter of 2011 concern air passenger rights (13.6% of the requests), the EU in general, EU institutions and Member States (13.3%), employment, social affairs and equal opportunities (10.8%), justice, fundamental rights and citizenship (8.2%), and enterprise and industry related subjects (3.3%). In order to cover all languages, communication channels and the necessary shifts, ESN has a team of around 40 well-trained communicators who have proven knowledge of the EU and its activities.