Mapping public support for the varieties of differentiated integration

Julian Schuessler, Max Heermann, Dirk Leuffen, Lisanne De Blok and Catherine E De Vries
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Julian Schuessler: Department of Political Science, 1006Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus, Denmark
Max Heermann: Department of Politics and Public Administration, 26567University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
Dirk Leuffen: Department of Politics and Public Administration, 26567University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
Lisanne De Blok: Utrecht University School of Governance, 8125Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Catherine E De Vries: Political and Social Sciences, 18982Bocconi University, Milano, Italy

European Union Politics, 2023, vol. 24, issue 1, 164-183

Abstract: This article maps and investigates public support for different types of differentiated integration (DI) in the European Union. We examine citizens’ preferences for DI using novel survey data from eight EU member states. The data reveals substantive differences in support for different types of DI. Factor analyses reveal two dimensions that seem to structure citizens’ evaluations of DI. The first dimension relates to the effect of DI on the European integration project, the second concerns the safeguarding of national autonomy. Citizens’ attitudes on this second dimension vary substantively across countries. General EU support is the most important correlate of DI support, correlating positively with the first and negatively with the second dimension. Our results underline that while citizens generally care about the fairness of DI, balancing out their different concerns can be a challenging political task.

Keywords: Core Europe; differentiated integration; factor analysis; public opinion; two-speed Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:24:y:2023:i:1:p:164-183

DOI: 10.1177/14651165221127633

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