Figure 16 – Average EU leaders’ total and EU tweets January 2019-June 2020

Figure 16 shows that non-EU-related tweets and EU-related tweets by EU leaders very often followed different trends. During some periods, the average of non-EU-related tweets declined, while the average of EU-related tweets increased (e.g. from April to May 2019), and the reverse (January to February 2019). In other periods, the frequency between total non-EU tweets and EU tweets were more aligned (June to September 2019). The most significant difference was from February to April 2020, which may be related to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. At the start of the coronavirus crisis, the average number of non-EU tweets peaked for the whole 18-month period, while tweets on EU issues were on a downward trend towards an absolute low. Even in the months to follow, EU leaders generally tweeted more than average, while their EU tweets were just about average. This shows that communication (via Twitter) was particularly focused on national issues and on a national audience, while EU tweets spiked at crucial moments during the 18-month period.