From Brussels to the citizen? The language of European Commission press releases 1985-2020

The public politicisation of European integration indicates a growing demand for public justification of supranational authority. This paper highlights that the messages the European Commission sends to its citizens do not meet this demand. A text analysis of almost 45,000 press releases the Commission has issued during 35 years of European integration rather indicates an extremely technocratic style of communication. Benchmarked against national executive communication, public political media, and scientific discourse, the Commission used and continues to use very complex language, specialized jargon, and a nominal style that obfuscates political action. This appears risky if not dangerous in a politicized context and more research on the reasons for this apparent communication deficit is needed.