Frames, narratives and representations of the european digital transition policies in the post covid-19 scenario. Towards a digital european public sphere? Presentation of the research plan

Without any doubt, the Covid-19 pandemic has marked a turning point in the history of European integration. In a context of increasing uncertainty and fear, the historical value of European solidarity, around which the common project has been structured over the decades, has been called into question. Among the main causes, episodes of 'national selfishness' on the part of some Member States during the initial stages of the health crisis, the difficulties of European institutions in identifying, quickly and effectively, common measures to tackle the pandemic, but also and above all forms of disinformation and misinformation which have found in the enlarged digital environments a fertile ground for dissemination. New and latent issues have emerged in the climates of opinion of the member states, as well as in the institutional environments of the European Union, making it even more evident the need to guarantee the quality European public debate. The need for reliable information is thus linked to the need to redefine the European communication policy to respond to the needs of EU citizens in the post-pandemic scenario. Beyond that, the digital transition and the opportunities, and challenges, that brings with it. In the context of restrictions on mobility imposed by the pandemic, information and communication technologies have redefined the geometries and places of sociality, as well as of media use. For the first time in the history of the united Europe, there has been the convergence, albeit partial, of the media agendas, and therefore of the public opinion of the 27, around a common issue: the pandemic and its consequences. Thus, the question of the European Public Sphere emerges in an innovative way: that of a digital European Public Sphere. What are the chances that this condition will be fulfilled and, if the process is completed, what would be its main characteristics? Would the European Public Sphere be a sui generis phenomenon or would it rather be the product of the Europeanisation of the national public spheres?