Institutions as the Key to EU Communication Policy? Cover Image

Instituce jako klíč ke komunikační politice EU?
Institutions as the Key to EU Communication Policy?

Author(s): Petr Kaniok, Michaela Kozlová
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Communication policy; European Commission; coordination discourse; communication discourse; democratic deficit; information and communication strategies; Eurobarometr; EU awareness raising

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the communication policy of the European Union – specifically, the communication policy of the European Commission. Though the Commission has considered communication policy to be one of its most important priorities in recent years, opinion polls and the behaviour of EU citizens during various elections or referenda show that little progress has yet been made in this field. The authors try to uncover the reasons for this situation by examining the institutional set-up within the Commission’s communication policy. In doing so, they base their research on the assumption derived from discursive institutionalism that EU communication policy is characterized by its complex co-ordinative discourse, which limits the potential of its communicative discourse. In order to specify the subject, the authors begin with an overview of current developments in the communication policy and an analysis of the main strategic documents introduced by the Commission. Then, the coordination discourse, first at EU level and second at national level, is explored through the examination of various actors institutionally involved in EU communication policy and the coordination mechanisms present among them. Subsequently, the communication discourse is analysed through research into the communication tools the Commission uses to achieve its goals in the field of communication policy. At the end, the relationship between the two discourses is discussed and potential solutions are proposed.

  • Issue Year: XVIII/2011
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 254-273
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Czech