European Discourses in the Enlargement Candidate Countries and the Serbian Press on the Process of Enlargement
European Discourses in the Enlargement Candidate Countries and the Serbian Press on the Process of Enlargement

Summary/Abstract: The first part of the paper presents the results of opinion polls that surveyed attitudes of citizens in Central and East European countries (CEE) concerning their attitudes to the EU enlargement and expectations from their countries' joining the EU. That attitude is generally positive – the majority would vote in favour of joining the European Union in the case of referendum. The strongest argument given for voting in support of EU-membership is the hope that general progress would happen thanks to the EU. Economic development and open markets come after that. European discourses in different countries of the region throughout the '90s are also analysed in the paper. Comparing reports from various countries it becomes evident that Euro-optimistic and Euro-sceptic views in most public discourses exist simultaneously, with sometimes stronger emphasis on one of them. A lack of interest on the part of the public for deeper Europe-related discussions is also noticeable and rather common. The final part presents and discusses the results of the research that examined the ways Serbian press wrote about Europe in the last three years, more specifically a part of the research devoted to coverage of the process of the EU enlargement. It could be seen that progress achieved in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe towards membership in the European Union, stages of their political, economic and social reforms that bring them closer to the EU, and the process of negotiations with the Union were not really visible in the writing of Serbian press in the late nineties and in 2000. The situation changed gradually with the new political situation in Serbia, after elections in 2000.

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