ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT’S COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AND CAMPAIGNS AIMED AT ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION – EXPERIENCES OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, POLAND, SLOVENIA AND CROATIA

Na putu prema punopravnom članstvu u Europskoj Uniji, nakon završetka pristupnih pregovora, Hrvatska mora održati referendum na kojem će se hrvatski građani izjasniti o ulasku Hrvatske u tu zajednicu. Kako bi hrvatski građani upoznali prednosti članstva u EU-u te kako bi se utjecalo na javno mnijenje da ishod referenduma bude pozitivan, Vlada Republike Hrvatske usvojila je čak dvije komunikacijske strategije s ciljem informiranja hrvatskih građana i pridobivanja potpore za svoju europsku politiku. Autori analiziraju prednosti i nedostatke tih strategija komparirajući ih s iskustvima drugih europskih država koje su uspješno prošle taj put te ukazuju na neiskorištene komunikacijske mogućnosti.On the road to full membership in the European Union, and after completion of accession negotiations, Croatia must hold a referendum at which Croatian citizens will state their opinions on Croatia’s entry into this community. In order for Croatian citizens to become familiar with the benefits of EU membership and in order to influence public opinion so that the outcome of the referendum is positive, the Croatian Government has adopted two communication strategies aimed at informing the Croatian public and gaining support for its European policy. The authors analyze the advantages and disadvantages of these strategies, comparing them with the experiences of other European countries that have successfully passed this road, and point to the untapped communication possibilities