The eurobarometer and the making of european opinion

Abstract

How is the EB made? Who makes it? According to which methods? Which means (material, human, conceptual) are used and which aims (institutional, political, ideological) are sought? Does the EB have an influence - and if so, what kind - on political, media and scholarly perceptions of 'European public opinion'? This paper analyses the questionnaires and raises some methodological issues about the makin of EB. It analyses then the ins and outs of the institutionalisation of EB results, to understand how a monopolistic and official production of 'European public opinion' has come to prevail