The Postmodernity of European Integration: Affirming EU Core Values, Identities and Principles in the Mass Media

The unparalleled evolution of the European political model was thoroughly evoked by a seminal literature. This paper contemplates on the postmodernity challenges of European integration in the aftermath of the Treaty of Lisbon having in focus the reflections of the European Union (EU) core values, identity(ies) and principles in the mass media. Methodologically, the study was designed to cover (1) the selection of international online news sources spanning an admissible period, (2) identifying and selecting articles, (3) manual coding of articles, (4) analysis and interpretation of results. The main objective of this study is to render a fair analysis of the imagological profile that can be discovered in media depictions on EU core values, identities and democratic principles by taking into account the frequency in media coverage and the analysis of main themes associated to the selected articles. The analysis thus concentrates on identifying journalistic trends in the coverage of the European integration process, the challenges of the European project, globalization and national/local identities, the relations among the EU and its Member States. The paper concludes on the specificities in media projections and coverage of the fundamental values and objectives of EU construction, bringing into discussion media reflections of EU competences, usage of democratic principles and democratization in terms of institutional architecture and decision-making process.