La valeur de l'Europe

Dans ce commentaire paru dans l’édition de mars de la revue mensuelle Politik & Kommunikation, Hajo Friedrich, journaliste indépendant à Bruxelles et à Vienne, adopte une attitude critique vis-à-vis de l’Union européenne, des médias et de la présidence allemande.

The author emphasises that the communication strategies of the European Commission as well as the numerous conferences, talks and papers haven’t been able to change the fact that European citizens remain highly sceptical of European integration and the EU institutions. Still, as the author points out, EU actors keep certifying their own capacity to act, their leadership and the potential of the EU. 

Hajo Friedrich doesn’t stop there. He also attacks the media, the « so-called fourth power », arguing that their reporting is not differentiated enough and emotional rather than penetrative. The only media capable of putting European topics on the agenda in Germany is the Bild-Zeitung, Friedrich argues. 

Friedrich also criticises the the German Presidency’s agenda and declares that it misses out important debates, such as that of Turkish EU membership. 

Click here to read the full commentary (in German).