External Perceptions of the European Union: A Survey of New Zealanders' Perceptions and Attitudes towards the European Union. NCRE Research Series No. 1, February-March 2003

[From the Introduction] The changing profile of New Zealand society, the possible weakening of traditional ties to the UK, as well as New Zealand’s potential Asian “identity”, all serve to underline the need for empirical analysis of contemporary general public perceptions of Europe, one of the dominant economic, political and cultural partners for New Zealand. On the other side of this important relationship, the European Union places great value on its external relations. This initial study offers a unique view of the EU from the outside; the findings constitute the beginning of a longer-term analysis of NZ-EU perceptions. This brochure presents the results and concluding comments of a quantitative study of the perceptions of the EU among New Zealand citizens. The study was launched and carried out by the National Centre for Research on Europe, at the University of Canterbury. These results are the first of their kind in New Zealand. There has been no previous study that explores public opinion on the EU within New Zealand. It is hoped that this report will be useful to all those interested in this important region. It is also anticipated that the survey will be repeated at regular intervals to track the trends in New Zealand views of the EU

The EU tells a good story about itself, but its Asian partners may not be hearing it

How do countries in Asia view the European Union? Drawing on a new study, Ben O'Loughlin, Natalia Chaban and Alister Miskimmon show that Asian elites see the EU as an important partner, but do not buy into the EU's own narrative that Europe is a peaceful continent whose ability to overcome war offers a model for others

The EU in the Eyes of Ukrainian General Public: potential for Eu public diplomacy?

This paper focuses on the public diplomacy (PD) practices of the EU—a supranational regional organisation confronted with two distinct challenges. First, the EU aims to reform its external action in order to become a global power and leader in the changing multipolar world. Second, it purports to fight the ongoing economic crisis that not only weakens the actual global capabilities of the EU, but damages its international image and reputation as a power and a leader. The paper assumes the potential of EU PD tools in meeting these challenges and tests this assumption in one case study of international public opinion on the EU in its immediate neighbourhood (Ukraine). Importantly, the study confronts an additional challenge: EU PD is described in the relevant literature to be a disjointed, under-resourced and overlooked policy area