I 100 Libri

Biografia

Emma Bonino, (Italian, born 9 March 1948), politician and former European Commissioner (1994-1999)
Anthony King, (Canadian-British, born 17 November 1934), professor and political analyst
Claus Larass, (German, born 1944), former editor-in-chief of Bild-Zeitung, Germany's biggest newspaper
Abel Matutes, (Spanish, born 31 October 1941), politician and Foreign Affairs minister (1996-2000)
Nicole Notat, (French, born 26 July 1947), former Secretary General of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT)
Anton Pelinka, (Austrian, born 14 October 1941), Professor of Political Science.

Riassunto

This short book is part of a series of discussion papers on key EU issues published by the Philip Morris Institute, which was set up in 1993 to contribute to the European policy debate. Written in a climate of recession and reservation over economic and monetary union, the paper brings together six distinguished authors from a wide variety of backgrounds to tackle the topic of public support for the EU – or rather the lack of it. The contributors look at the reasons behind this and discuss the issue of euroscepticism (also looking at the role played by the media), with British political analyst Anthony King debunking some euro myths along the way. The general consensus is that progress is slow and more needs to be done to gain public confidence and better communicate the EU to citizens so they can make properly informed decisions.

Emma Bonino, who at the time was the EU Commissioner for Fisheries, Consumer Policy and the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), was bold enough to suggest there might be more to public disappointment in the process of European integration than simply a matter of misunderstanding the message. Suggesting rather that the case might be that the public disagreed with it? The issues debated remain current and the question in the paper's title is one that is still being asked today.