The genesis of a European Public Sphere: Economic crisis and Lampedusa, European elections and cross-border migration | Polscieu

"If you have been following European politics and media, online and offline, for the past 5-6 years, you cannot but notice the genesis of a European Public Sphere . This sphere may be more or less evolved depending on national media, but it clearly there, much more than it was before the last European elections and the before the start of the crisis. ... The current discussions about free movement of EU citizens from Romania and Bulgaria are yet another proof that we have entered into a phase where cross-boder migration, economic situations and political rent-seeking generate debates within countries and across the Union, after youth unemployment (and potential related migration) had already become a cross-border issues over the past year. The fierce UK debate in the past weeks and months around the lifting of working restrictions for Romanians and Bulgarians as not just led to reactions in Bulgarian media prompted public discussions between Bulgarian and British politicians. It has spilled over to the Netherlands, related debates happen in France. The UK debate is now also a German debate, and Romanians in Germany start to react. And the German debate is covered in French media. The views of a European Commissioner is part of the discussions in Germany, while the Belgian press (via the AFP) asks how many EU citizens have actually moved to Romania and Bulgaria. And in Austria, the media is also discussing why immigration is necessary." - Ron Patz with some evidence of a conversation that needs to develop a lot further