EUROPEAN PUBLIC SPHERE AND THE MEANINGS OF ‘SIGNIFICANCE’. Spanish case study: preliminary findings for political parties, social movements, and print media.

ARRIBAS, ALBERTO; GONZÁLEZ, NAYRA; GIL ARAUJO, SANDRA; DE LA FUENTE, BEGOÑA

Osnabrück

Conferencia; FIRST INTERNATIONAL EUROSPHERE CONFERENCE; 2009

Universidad de Osnabrück

The aim of this presentation is to provide a preliminary response to the question brought forward in Panel I of the Osnabrück Conference: how significant is the European Public Sphere for actors?Throughout this paper we will focus on the political parties, social movements, and print media interviewed for the Spanish case study within the project EUROSPHERE. Diversity and the European Public Sphere. Towards a Citizens´ Europe1. We will analyze the produced data trying to scrutinize not just the level of significance but also the different meanings attached to such significance: the reasons (the heterogeneous criteria) why different actors regard the EPS as significant for the development and/or achievement of their own goals.We consider this approach analytically relevant since although no actor has depicted the EPS as non-significant, the answers given in the interviews differ in some key elements. Our aim is therefore to highlight –for the selected actors2- which elements are implied in the ‘significance’ of the EPS, comparing the responses given to the questions related to:1. Actors’ views on the relationship between EU-project and diversity issues: does the EUproject have a positive or negative impact on diversity?2. Actors’ views on the importance of the EPS: how do the actors perceive the relevance ofthe EPS?3. Actors’ views on the EPS: is there an EPS? is it inclusive / exclusive?We are most interested in looking carefully to the relationships and interplays between theaforementioned dimensions in order to map out the meanings of significance. Firstly we willpresent the answers given by every actor; then we will organize the responses in three tables, one for every question; and finally we will realize a brief preliminary analysis of the data.