Abstract:

Even though the EU’s policies are directly affecting European citizens’ daily lives and most of the EU laws and regulations are binding for EU citizens, the European public is not always aware of those policies and the functioning of the EU organs which may keep the citizens distant from the Union and prevent the public from understanding the benefits of the EU membership. However, it is essential to inform the citizens of the EU and its operation, if we expect European citizens to understand the benefits of the EU and support the European integration process. In this sense, particular attention should be given on receiving the approval and support of the young generations regarding the future of the Union and the European integration.

In this regard, this study suggests that in addition to the information campaigns and other sort of communication strategies, mobility programs under Erasmus+ organized by the European Commission might be a critical means to increase the participants’ knowledge on the EU and a strategy to deal with information deficit as well as to increase backing for European integration. As publicly presented and disseminated in Erasmus+ program guides, the EU does not intend to overcome lack of information with the help of this program, rather it has various priorities. Yet, the program also generates unintended consequences with regard to the information deficit.

In this context, this study will claim that practical and lived experiences, e.g. student mobility programs may be influential in terms of the promotion of information on EU thereby the backing for European integration among young generations. As they become a part of the Program administered by the European Commission itself, it might be assumed that taking part in the program will positively affect students’ awareness of the EU and even before generating a European identity, or quite independent of it. Students, who interact with individuals coming from other European countries and are subjects or direct beneficiaries of the regulatory powers of the Union such as free movement, single currency or mutual recognition of diplomas, may become more aware of the policy areas governed by the Union and increase their basic knowledge about the EU which may help to overcome the problem of information deficit and to a certain degree the legitimacy deficit of the EU.

To address the aforementioned questions surrounding Erasmus+ experiences of the participants and its effects on participants’ knowledge of the EU and its policy areas, the results of the longitudinal survey, organized for the Master thesis of the author (2018) at METU Department of European Studies will be shared. To be able to measure the impact of the program, the same questionnaire was distributed electronically to Erasmus students at the beginning (ex-ante) and the end (ex post) of the exchange period. The questionnaire was distributed in four of the most well-known universities in Ankara; Ankara University, Bilkent University, Hacettepe University and Middle East Technical University (METU). The questionnaire was composed of closed-end questions based on scale charts enumerated from 1 to 10 as well as “yes” and “no” questions and the fluctuations between the results of the two terms have been analyzed with the SPSS program.

Keywords:

Erasmus+, Information Deficit, Survey.