What do we talk about when we talk about the European Union? A topic modelling approach to Portuguese and Spanish newspapers during the crisis: A topic modelling approach to Portuguese and Spanish newspapers during the crisis

First lines: The question of what the European Union represents to its citizens is a crucial component in the longstanding debates regarding its political deepening and its legitimation. Such questioning gains extraordinary relevance in a moment of still deep crisis, of prolific institutional innovation, and certainly in a moment of remarkable distrust and even extreme dissent, such as in the case of the British referendum decision to leave the Union. Attempting at making a contribution to a more comprehensive understanding of the webs of meaning that are associated with the European integration project, but also at shedding some light on countries that are usually not as covered by the literature or at least not as targeted in broader analyses, this paper asks a rather simple question: what do we talk about when we talk about the EU in Portuguese and Spanish newspapers