The Future of the EU: Rhetoric in Service of the Commission's Agenda?

Abstract

This article examines whether the White Paper on the Future of Europe the EU Commission published in March 2017, encourages real public discourse on different options for the future of Europe. In other words, are the different options of the White Paper ground for discussion in which ‘every voice will be heard’ as promised, or are there implicit restrictions to the inclusiveness incorporated in its approach? Analyzing this document using theories on rhetoric and rhetoric techniques, it suggests that the White Paper uses rhetoric devices to create a misleading impression of inclusiveness, while in fact aiming at the same target as the Five Presidents Report of 2015: advocating for the highest degrees of integration.

Keywords: The EU; the Five Presidents Report; the White Paper; Rhetoric; Enhanced Integration

JEL Classification: F10, F15, K33