The European Institutions and Their Communication Deficits

The process of European integration, says Edgar Morin (Penser l’Europe. Gallimard, Paris, 1987) has always appeared as a tumultuous disorder, always balanced between success and the risk of failure. The democratic deficit has been seen as the biggest obstacle in the way of building a European public sphere and it has been identified as the main reason for citizens’ disaffection. Unfortunately, however, the problem exceeds the capacity of European institutions to increase knowledge of their activities through communication opportunities. This contribution argues that the democratic deficit should not only be addressed as a communication issue. In point of fact there is, most of all, a significant political deficit, and a lack of actors able to defend in institutional forums new European scenarios able to go beyond the geopolitical idea of Nation States.