Communicating Europe: the challenge of Europeanisation of communication

Abstract

This paper examines the issue of communicating Europe to the European public, the importance of which has been accentuated by the acknowledged existence of a communication gap in the European Union. The paper looks at the experience and practice in the field of communication and refers to evidence of how the EU, its member states, candidate countries as well as Croatia have so far communicated European issues to their publics. The findings suggest several conclusions. Firstly, the practices resorted to so far have had an impact on the democratic feature of the EU and the public support it has acquired, but also on its practical everyday functioning. Secondly, there are numerous elements that account for the difficulties that exist in making the communication of Europe truly successful. Thirdly, the Europeanisation of communication should be taken into consideration as a way of contributing to the filling of the communication gap. Communication focusing not only on teaching facts but also on raising people's interest about European issues has become an EU policy of growing importance and a crucial instrument for ensuring the future ability to justify and win support for the European integration project.