1 Changing Discourse on the EU: Analysing Dutch Newspaper Articles in 2005 and 2012 (Paper to be presented at the ECPR Graduate Student Conference, 3-5 July 2014 in Innsbrück, Austria,) 23 June, 2014 Jan de Jong Charles University, Prague Abstract: The EU has ďeeŶ iŶ aŶ eĐoŶoŵiĐ Đƌisis as ǁell as a Đƌisis of solidaƌity foƌ seǀeƌal yeaƌs now and this has no doubt influenced the way that the EU is represented. In my paper I want to analyse the development of discourse on the EU in the Netherlands through the analysis of newspaper articles, making a diachronic comparison between the discourse in 2005 and 2012, before and after/during the crisis. In order to do this, a data sample of articles has been taken from popular newspaper De Telegraaf. The concept of framing is used as a way to structure the analysis, which tƌies to aŶsǁeƌ the ƋuestioŶ: Hoǁ has the ƌepƌeseŶtatioŶ of the ƌole of the ĐouŶtƌy iŶ the EU iŶ a populaƌ Ŷeǁspapeƌ iŶ the NetheƌlaŶds ĐhaŶged ďetǁeeŶ ϮϬϬϱ aŶd ϮϬϭϮ? The ŵaiŶ ĐoŶĐlusioŶs aƌe that the economic crisis had a huge impact and became nearly omnipresent in the data in 2012; that the image of the EU has changed negatively, focusing more on costs; and that the main scapegoats of the EU crisis that are presented are the PIIGS countries but even more strongly, the national and supra-national elites. 1. Introduction The results of the 2014 elections for the European Parliament have caused a lot of commotion throughout the continent. 1 The Ŷuŵďeƌ of EuƌosĐeptiĐ MEPs douďled Đoŵpaƌed to the ϮϬϬ9 eleĐtioŶs ǁith Đalls foƌ less Euƌope gƌoǁiŶg. This all ƌefleĐts the tuŵultuous deĐade that the EU has gone through, starting in 2004 with the largest enlargement in its history, going through the rejection of the European constitution in 2005 and the subsequent signing of the similar Lisbon Treaty. At the same time, Europe went through an economic crisis and a sovereign debt crisis in the years following 2009, which had a huge impact on the economies in the EU and especially in the European Monetary Union (EMU). 2 The changing size and shape, but even more so the European economic crisis, have reshaped both what the EU is and how it is perceived. As mentioned, Euroskepticism has been rising and continues to do so and the EU is indeed criticized in many ways. This is partly because of the eĐoŶoŵiĐ Đƌisis, ďut also ďeĐause of otheƌ, ŵoƌe fuŶdaŵeŶtal defiĐits of the EU, suĐh as its faŵed deŵoĐƌatiĐ defiĐit, ďut also a ƌepƌeseŶtatioŶ defiĐit, aŶ ideŶtitLJ defiĐit, etĐ. 3 One way that the EU, or more specifically, the European Commission, has tried to remedy this is ďLJ iŵpƌoǀiŶg the EUs ĐoŵŵuŶiĐatioŶ ǁith its ĐitizeŶs. 4 In particular, they have taken seriously the 1 (Hewitt 2014) 2 (Shore 2012) 3 ;DelaŶtLJ ϮϬϬϴ; DAppolloŶia ϮϬϬϮ; HaƌŵseŶ ϮϬϬϳ; and many other authors) 4 (Commission of the European Communities 2006);