Reading Europe: representations of the European Union in the Australian media

Abstract

In May 2004, the European Union yet again loosened it waistband to make room for 10 new Member States and an additional 75 million citizens from Central and Eastern Europe. As the Union grows in width, it is also growing in economic power, political significance, and social influence both at a global level, and also in terms of its bilateral relations with third countries such as Australia. The European Union has been Australia’s largest and most important economic partner for the past 15 years. It is our largest merchandise trading partner, our largest partner for trade in services, our principal source of import goods, and our leading investor. Yet, in spite of this clear importance to the national interest, our government has declared the EU to be ‘complex and difficult’, it is virtually invisible in local media, and is perceived as incomprehensible and esoteric by the Australian public, who find contemporary Europe easier to swallow if it comes in a pizza box or latte glass. The media plays a crucial role in civil society and public education and has the power to direct both elite and public perceptions and opinions. This paper looks at the media’s role in informing understandings and misunderstandings of the European Union in Australia by analysing the representations of the EU as an economic, political and social actor in local print and broadcast media. The paper considers the dynamics of interest, reflected in the visibility and status accorded to EU news, as well as the dynamics of content in order to comment on the significance of media representations for the EU-Australia relationship.