Public Opinion on EU Support

Measuring Support for the EU

• Measuring support for the EU is critical for European institutions, policymakers, and researchers.
• Voting provides information about public opinion, but it’s a rough and infrequent measure.
• Surveys are the primary way to gauge public opinion, with Eurobarometer being a key tool for the EU.
• There is a strong inverse correlation between positive and negative views of the EU by country.
• Age strongly influences support for the EU, with younger people being more likely to view it favorably.

Explaining Support for the EU

• Public opinion on the EU is shaped by multiple factors, often overlapping in complex ways.
• Interest-based explanations focus on material benefits, including net contributors vs. receivers, economic sectors, and skilled vs. unskilled workers.
• Ideas-based explanations consider opinions and ideas independent of material benefits.
• Ideas can affect support through democratic vs. technocratic status, legitimacy of supranational institutions, political economy, and institutional trust.
• Communication plays a vital role in shaping ideas, including the effectiveness of populist and Eurosceptic messages.

The EU and Identity

• The question of European identity focuses on the extent to which member state populations identify with the EU.
• Integration occurs among countries with strong national identities, often defined by language and religion.
• A European identity aims to coexist with national identities, not replace them.
• A civic European identity, based on values like liberal democracy, peace, tolerance, and the rule of law, is promoted by European institutions.

The Role of the Media

• The media plays a crucial role in the political process, acting as a primary carrier of public communication.
• The media influences all three causal pathways: information transmission, shaping ideas, frames, and discourses, and generating imagined communities.
• The European media space remains fragmented, with language differences creating barriers.
• The internet and social media have an ambiguous role, potentially overcoming fragmentation but also reinforcing divisive and anti-EU discourses.

Historical Narratives

• The history of European integration is characterized by "history-making" moments, primarily embodied in treaties.
• This history can be understood through connecting narratives or trajectories that help synthesize different parts of the story.

Sectoral Integration

• The history of integration revolves around member states pooling or sharing competences at a supranational level.
• Integration began in coal and steel production and gradually expanded to more sectors over time.
• The EU now operates in virtually all public policy sectors.
• Progressive sectoral integration has been influential in EU studies, inspiring neo-functionalism.

Vertical Integration

• As integration has expanded, it has also involved increasing centralization.
• Competence transfer is not an "all or nothing" process, with varying degrees of sovereignty transfer.
• Vertical integration has proceeded at different paces in different areas.
• Some argue that vertical integration has slowed down or ended, starting with the Eurozone crisis.

Geographic Expansion

• The EU has grown from six founding members to 28 (as of 2013).
• Croatia joined the EU in 2013.
• The UK left the EU in 2020, reducing the membership to 27.

Differentiation

• As the EU has grown and integrated, it has become more challenging for member states to move together.

The CJEU and Integration

• The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has played a crucial role in the development of EU institutions towards greater integration and supranationalism.
• Key CJEU judgments include Van Gend en Loos on direct effect and Costa v ENEL on supremacy.
• Some argue that there are recent signals of a shift away from "judicial activism" by the Court.

The EU’s Political Economy

• Political economy refers to the intersection between political and economic spheres.
• European integration is more advanced in economic areas, making political economy a prominent aspect of EU studies.
• The Single Market and the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) are key areas of the EU's political economy.

Positive vs. Negative Integration

• Positive and negative integration are two ways in which European societies can be integrated:
  • Negative integration involves removing barriers between societies.
  • Positive integration involves building shared institutions and competences.

Theories of Integration

• Integration theory aims to explain the process of integration among nation-states and its transformations.
• Integration theory is closely connected to the development of the EU, with theoretical debates influenced by real-world developments.

Federalism

• European federalism was a political doctrine developed during WWII as a project for post-war Europe.
• The Ventotene manifesto, written by Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi, advocated for a Europe-wide federation.
• Federalism is more a normative theory and a political manifesto than an explanatory theory.