Chapter 23 Public Opinion and the EU

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Chapter 23Public Opinion and the EU

• Cini (ed.) European Union Politics, 2nd edition
• OUP Online Teaching Resources

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Structure of the Lecture

• How is the EU perceived by the people?
• Explaining public opinion on the EU
• Public opinion in the new member states
• Public opinion matters

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How is the EU perceived by the people?

• The overall trend of public opinion on the EU
• Euro-enthusiasm was on the rise through 1991
• It was considerably reduced by 1997
• Country specific characteristics
• People in Austria, Finland, Sweden and the UK are
  the least supportive
• The original six members and the Mediterranean
  members, plus Ireland, are the most supportive
• Enthusiasm for the EU declined in every member
  states across the 1990s

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Explaining public opinion on the EU

• Knowledge of the EU and cognitive mobilization
• What is cognitive mobilization?
• Cognitive mobilization and attitudes towards the
  EU
• The more one knows, the more supportive s/he
  becomes

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Explaining public opinion on the EU

• Political economy and rationality
• What is egocentric and sociotropic
  utilitarianism?
• The benefits and costs of European integration
• People with better education, job skills and
  income tend to be more supportive

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Explaining public opinion on the EU

• Attitudes towards the national government
• When people are not familiar with the EU, they
  rely on domestic political cues/proxies
• The relationship between domestic political
  performance and the perceived EU legitimacy

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Explaining public opinion on the EU

• Identity
• Identity exclusive or multi-layered?
• European identity and national pride
• The perception of EU institutions
• Do people trust the EU institutions?

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Public opinion in the new member states

• People in the new member states are not as
  Euro-enthusiastic as they were in the early 1990s
• The Baltic countries are the least enthusiastic
  supporters for the EU
• Citizens in the new member states worry about the
  cost of integration, financially as well as
  culturally
• Public opinion in the candidate countries are
  still positive.

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Public opinion matters

• The EU is lack of the normal institutional basis
  of political legitimacy
• The increasing use of referendums on issues
  relating to European integration
• The ongoing constitutional crisis
• The long-term risk of political apathy
• Euroscepticism as a populist rhetoric