The European Community's Public Communication Policy 1951–1967

Abstract

From its inception the European (1951)(1952)(1953)(1954)(1955)(1956)(1957)(1958)(1959)(1960)(1961)(1962) and opinion leader led (1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)

An agonistic pluralism approach to the European public sphere

“…In contrast to what most research on European integration claims, there was a strong and sincere 'civil aim' in the European leaders' communication efforts (Harrison and Pukallus 2015). The concern was certainly to increase the legitimacy of European political institutions by gaining public recognition for their political performance.…”

“…It is believed that they wanted less citizen involvement for the sake of efficiency in European integration work. Based on original archive data, Harrison and Pukallus (2015) convincingly document the opposite was the case in a thorough historical study of EU leaders' ways of communicating with citizens and the EU's public communication policies and strategies between 1951 and 1967.…”

“…However, the linking of the European Commission, the executive organ of the European Union, with individual citizens followed a less direct path. Harrison and Pukallus (2015) claim historians of European integration writing about the European Community (EC)'s communication with citizens are operating with mistaken frames of understanding when stating that the early leaders of the ECSC and EC were not interested in communicating with citizens. It is believed that they wanted less citizen involvement for the sake of efficiency in European integration work.…”

“…Recognizing the difficulty of reaching the public directly with limited resources, the ECSC decided to transmit their messages to citizens through influential public figures. This was a critical juncture, leading the European leaders from a 'popularist approach ' (1951-1962) to an 'elitist opinion leader approach' (1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967) in their efforts to construct a European public sphere (Harrison and Pukallus 2015). This was also the beginning of the formation of the Eurosphere, the communicative space of European elites and citizens, which became the driver of the formation of the larger European public sphere.…”

Communicating the EU in Europhile and Eurosceptic Spaces: An Examination of European Parliament Information Offices in the Republic of Ireland and Greece

“…Even before this bilateral shift however, as Harrison & Pukallus (2015) point out, the European Community attempted to establish connections with citizens in two ways.…”