In the first session, we will present the key findings of an analysis of debates on the future of Europe in 11 national parliaments and the European Parliament between 2015-2021 presented in an upcoming report “What future for Europe? Political actors’ narratives on European integration and democracy in national parliaments (2015-2021)”, edited by Magdalena Góra, Elodie Thevenin and Katarzyna Zielińska.
The launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe on 9th of May 2021 has initiated an intensive process of consultations on reforms of the EU with citizens. However, the Conference is situated within the broader context of debates on the future of Europe (FoE) that has been taking place with various intensity since 2015.
Parliaments (national and European) have been playing a special role in such debates as they form arenas where Members of (European) Parliament negotiate ideas, opinions, policy proposals representing interests of their respective (national) constituencies and political parties and as such mobilize mass support.
The second session will be kicked off by a presentation by Henrik Müller, one of the co-authors of new research analysing the discourse around European reforms in three European business newspapers (Handelsblatt, Il Sole and Les Echos).
They find that, despite a more relevant role of Europe in the public debate, when it comes to European reforms news are often framed with national lens and follow a cyclical pattern where the attention on a topic is high during a crisis and then subsides in normal time. Finally, from the study a common narrative on European reforms emerges, with reforms deemed to be necessary but unattainable.
PART 1: Future of the EU - Public debate
11.30 -12.30
Chair: Rebecca Christie, Non-resident fellow
- Magdalena Góra, Associate Professor, Institute of European Studies, Jagiellonian University, and EU3D project member
- Guillaume McLaughlin, Head of the Interinstitutional Future Reflection Unit, European Parliament
- Tiziano Zgaga, Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz, and EU3D project member
PART 2: EU Dialogue on media narratives
13.00 -14.00- Chair: Giuseppe Porcaro, Head of Outreach, Governance and Human Resources, and EU3D project member
- Martin Moland, Doctoral Research Fellow - ARENA Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo, and EU3D project member
- Henrik Müller, Professor, University of Dortmund
- Sarah Wheaton, Chief Policy Correspondent, Politico
