European Citizenship: Can European Audio-visual Policy Make a Difference?

The European Union (EU) has developed to include the notion of European citizenship. European audio-visual policy aims to give substance to European citizenship through the medium of television on the assumption that it creates an informed and involved public and is a mechanism by which a sense of identity can be fostered. Although this proposition may seem uncontroversial, there are a number of underlying assumptions which deserve closer examination, and which are the subject of this article. We outline the nature of European citizenship before considering the role of television in the European context. Through this process we identify flaws in the assumptions underlying European audio-visual policy, before going on briefly to identify difficulties with the mechanisms through which the Community has sought to put theory into practice.