THE ROLE OF TELEVISION IN EUROPEAN ELECTIONS - THE CASES OF BELGIUM AND DENMARK

Direct election to the European Parliament was introduced in 1979, whe n the first direct election took place. The second direct election was held in 1984 and the third in 1989 after the decision to create a Sin gle European Market. Traditionally, a large proportion of national ele ction campaigns consists of television coverage. Given plans for great er European integration it becomes increasingly relevant to study the role of national television in the process of European integration. Th is article focuses on the use of television in Belgium and Denmark, wi th different aspects of European election campaigns on television bein g highlighted. Was the role of television the same in these two countr ies on the issue of election to the European Parliament? Or did it fol low a pattern to be expected due to a differentiation between Belgium and Denmark based on ideas of EC centre and periphery? Using data coll ected as part Df a systematic content analysis of EC issues on televis ion programmes in 1979, 1984 and 1989, we look at the structure of the European election campaigns on the national TV channels in these two small EC countries. How did television access for political parties co mpare with national elections? Further, what changes have there been o ver this period, and to what degree did changes in the media structure influence the use of television?