The article explores the role the European Union plays in the public discourse on foreign policy in EU member states. It approaches the problematique from a novel perspective, interpreting the EU’s impact on the foreign policies of its member states as a result of the EU’s actorness. Focussing on two dimensions of actorness – its power of policy framing and its legitimacy, it explores two interrelated hypotheses: whether the issues which are considered as traditional strengths of member states’ foreign policies are less prone to EU policy framing than others; and whether the issues directly linked to hard security concerns also remain less Europeanized. Additionally, the paper challenges the received view that Europeanization is hampered by the perception gap between the political elite and the general public. These hypotheses are tested on the case of Sweden, whereby the paper is divided into three case studies analysing the Swedish discourses on the EU’s actions related to a) the London terrorist attacks of July 2005; b) the Russian-Georgian war of August 2008; c) the Haiti earthquake of January 2010. Methodologically, the paper builds on the discourse analysis of newspaper articles (Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet) and political speeches and documents (altogether 1,300 text units).
