The Wavering EU. the Question of EU Communication in the Context of the Eurozone Crisis

The Wavering EU. The Question of Communication in the Context of the Eurozone Review oi Communication. A View from Theory and Practice by Alina Bârgaoanu and Elena Negrea (eds.); Bucuresti: Comunicare.ro, 2011, 266 p.Nowadays, the European Union is facing utterly important problems that threaten the foundation of the construction itself, making it waver between reinforcing national identities and therefore, the value of borders and state sovereignty, and increasing the cohesion among member states and their sense of European identity, giving thus value and meaning to the notion of a true union. In this particular context, knowing elementary concepts such as European identity, Europeanization, European public sphere, euro-skepticism or euro-enthusiasm, communication proves to be essential in order to comprehend the transformational processes that faces, the challenges, the solutions and implicitly, the perspectives for EU's future. All these aspects are debated in the book Communication. A View from Theory and Practice.The volume was elaborated within the project Communicating Europe: strategies and policies for increasing EU's visibility among member states, funded by the European Commission through the 2007-2013 Lifelong Learning Programme, action Jean Monnet European Teaching Modules, implemented by the College of Communication and Public Relations within the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration. It consists of nine chapters that emphasize issues regarding communication, European identity, Europeanization, public sphere, European public sphere, Europeanized national public sphere or parochial public sphere, integrating the role of media in determining these differentiations. During these difficult times - characterized by the challenges brought about by the euro crisis, by the lack of democratic deficit and legitimacy of decisions, by the failure of the feeling of solidarity at level and failure of appropriating a unitary European identity, by the increase of euro-skepticism -, communication might become the savior of the whole European construction. Moreover, creating a European public sphere and overcoming the euro crisis might also be crucial factors in making the European project still wished for and possible. Reinforcing solidarity is a must that can be achieved, among other things, through public communication. This can consolidate the sense of European identity among citizens, increase optimism regarding the project and determine member states to engage more in creating a common path and in accepting the outcomes of the proposed measures. However, this implies measures accepted by all member states, not imposed by the selected few to a group of mere followers. Otherwise, the national and the individual interests will prevail at the expense of interests. The long road from euro-skepticism to eurooptimism, from national public spheres to European public sphere, from national identity to European identity, from nation state to a new form of supranational governance structure implies communication. The volume reviewed offers plenty of answers and enlightening perspectives on these problems.The introduction - EU Communication in Crisis - written by the two editors of the book is premised on the idea that the tough times that confront the European Union may lead one into the idea that communication, the public sphere, legitimacy, the democratic and communication deficit are somewhat secondary issues, of not downward insignificant. Concerns for closing the gap between the Union and its citizens, or for synchronizing public communication within the appear to be less of a priority. Yet a more thorough analysis reveals that the issues related to the communication, the public sphere, the European identity, the democratic deficit, and the legitimacy of the European construction have been risen visibly and even dramatically along the turning-points of the history: the emergence of the single market, the introduction of the euro, the participation in the second war in Iraq, and recently, the outbreak of the euro crisis. …