December 1, 2009 
Author: Dorin Dolghi
Abstract: In the past years there are an increasing number of attitudes and events that suggest a chronic need for a better communication between European Union and its citizens. One of the main issues concerns the perception, among citizens, of a lack of legitimacy and transparency of EU and its institutions. In order to identify and analyze some of the causes, we suggest that an important variable that should be considered is the communication strategy of the EU. In this article we explore some interpretations of legitimacy that can be associated to the perception of EU’s institutions among the European citizens and the main points expressed by the European Commission with regard on the Communication Strategy.
Keywords: citizens, communication, institutions, integration, legitimacy