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Four years after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the consequences are still unclear. The political landscape in the UK has been in turmoil ever since and public opinion about Brexit is sharply polarised. But Brexit has also laid bare the lack of a plan for Europe’s future, i.e. for the relationships between Europe’s EU and non-EU countries – what we call “EUrope”. The remaining EU27 are still to find a long-term solution for their relationship with the UK while other non-EU countries, such as Norway and Switzerland, fear for their carefully tailored (individual) relationships with the EU.
Recently, however, there has been an increase in support for the European project, partly as a reaction to Brexit and partly in opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This has brought the prospect of further European integration back onto the agenda. However, little is known about the kind of “EUrope” that EU citizens as well as the citizens of other European countries want.
To address this gap, we asked citizens from eight countries for their perspectives. The countries included five EU member states – Denmark, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Spain – and three non-EU countries – Norway, Switzerland and the UK.
In total, our survey covered 4,548 people. Questions included socio-demographic questions and several questions on political attitudes as well as an open-ended question asking for each respondent’s views on the future of “EUrope”. We then grouped the latter responses into different categories. Figure 1 shows categories that were mentioned by at least 2% of respondents in either EU or non-EU countries.
Figure 1: Categories mentioned by at least 2% of respondents
Note: For more information, see the authors’ accompanying paper at European Union Politics
Our findings show that the views of citizens are more complex than a simple divide between those who favour more integration and those who oppose it. Some responses can be placed on this dimension, such as the “One United Europe” and the “No Institutional Bonds” categories, which each reflect absolute positions on European integration. However, many participants gave more nuanced answers that match other dimensions as well.
While many responses had a general focus, such as the “Good or Fair Cooperation” and “Status Quo” categories, a significant number of responses were focused on particular policy domains such as trade. We also found the advantages of European integration are most visible to citizens when it comes to travelling or working across borders, as shown by the “Freedom of Movement” category being important in both EU and non-EU countries.
Alongside more general preferences, some EU respondents seemed to have a clear idea of what they want – and do not want – from “EUrope”. We found opposition to non-EU member states “cherry picking” the types of integration they are involved in (“Stricter Relations”), as well as support for cutting back on red tape (“More Efficient Cooperation”).