European Public Opinion: Heterogeneity and Dynamics

Not only does the level of public support for the EU seem to be gradually eroding, but the level of intra-national divergence of preferences regarding European integration may be increasing. Strengthening competencies at the European (EU) level seem to be met on the one hand by an increasingly euroskeptic public across the EU and on the other hand, by a public sharply divided over the perceived benefits of European integration. Much of the work on European public opinion aims to explain differences in the levels of aggregate public support for European integration across all EU member states. Cross-national and cross-temporal variation of public support for European integration is explained with the help of independent variables such as post-materialist values, socio-economic left-right positioning, economic cost-benefit perceptions or culture and identity patterns. This paper explores the degree to which these very same approaches can be used to explain the heterogeneous distribution of domestic public opinion across EU member states and across time. Based on an empirical analysis using Eurobarometer data, this paper first shows general trends in Euroskepticism and in addition, explores which factors best explain why some EU states may be more divided than others over the question of European integration.