In the last fifteen years, the debate on the future of European integration has been fuelled by several treaty and accession negotiations as well as multiple crises (economic, Ukraine, migration etc.) the EU had to face. Such times should encourage debate both in individual national public spheres and across their boundaries, and through that debate, formulation and clarification of ideas and visions on the European political system. This should translate into the development of the common political language, in which the meaning related to one subject is shared across language boundaries, and which has been preceded by the common economic language (Blichner 2007). One of the most recent opportunities for such a development was presented by the British PM David Cameron efforts to “renegotiate” the conditions of British membership ahead of the referendum on continuation of British membership. This paper examines whether these negotiations, and the debate on the referendum itself, did indeed help do develop the common European political language. It analyses the public speeches and claims by top European (EU and national) political figures. It focuses on developments of political elites’ language including long-used but often unevenly understood terms including, but not limited to, political union, multi-speed Europe, variable geometry, federalization, sovereignty etc. It will do so through analysing public speeches and statements made by representatives (heads of state, government, ministers of foreign affairs, opposition leaders, EU institutions officials etc.) of several Member States (including the UK, France, Germany, Poland) and of the EU institutions and their reception in the media and addressed not only or even primarily to national audiences, but also to the European ones, and made (or later made available) in English.
