EU member states' humanitarian assistance and issue salience in public discourse: preliminary findings for the 2000 to 2008 period

Abstract

The establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) that took place with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty lays the basis for a potentially more coherent and better-structured approach of the European Union to the issue of the provision of humanitarian aid. Within such a context, this paper investigates the relationship between the provision of emergency financial assistance and the extent of the presence of the issue of humanitarian aid in public discourse in seven EU member states. The empirical findings highlight a strong correlation between increases in issue salience and increases in the provision of humanitarian assistance as well as a significant concomitant variation in the issue cycles of the investigated EU member states.