EU as an Inspiration for Latin America? Analysis of the Argentinean and Colombian Media

Abstract

The article proceeds from the concept of the actorness of the EU, especially
from its attractivity dimension, and also from comparisons of the EU and
the Latin-American integration blocs on both the political and the academic
level. It examines whether the Latin American media consider the EU as a
model for Latin American integration. On the basis of an analysis of various
articles published in two newspapers, the Argentinean La Nación and the
Colombian El Tiempo, two basic issues were examined: 1) whether these
daily newspapers perceive the EU as a source of inspiration for their own
countries’ integration, and 2) whether and how the discourse differs in the
two countries and whether it is possible to deduce general conclusions
from the similarities and/or differences in the discourses. In conclusion,
we deduce that some inspiration by the EU in the media perspective
exists but that it is only limited to a few concrete areas.