Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Anti-Europeanism pp 95–113Cite as

Euroscepticism in Times of European Crises: The Role of Solidarity

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

During the recent decade, European solidarity has been on everyone’s lips. However, to date, no study has captured the multiple facets of European solidarity and its effect on EU critical attitudes in times of the European financial and migrant crises. To fill the above-mentioned research gap, this chapter differentiates between the support for value-based European solidarity and transnational solidarity actions. I tested this using Eurobarometer waves ascertained from 2009 to 2015. The results show that solidarity does indeed affect attitudinal Euroscepticism. However, solidarity as a value has a more volatile effect on EU critical sentiments compared to the endorsement of solidarity actions. European citizens more likely oppose European integration once it comes along with cross-country burden sharing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    I would like to ask you a question about how much trust you have in certain institutions. For each of the following institutions, please tell me if you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it. 4: The European Union. 1-Tend to trust, 2-tend not to trust, 3-dk.

  2. 2.

    In general, does the European Union conjure up for you a very positive, fairly positive, neutral, fairly negative or very negative image? 1-Very positive, 2-Fairly positive, 3-Neutral, 4-Fairly negative, 5-Very negative, 6-dk.

  3. 3.

    Generally speaking, do you think that (OUR COUNTRY)’s membership of the European Union is…? 1-A good thing, 2-A bad thing, 3-Neither good nor bad, 4-dk.

  4. 4.

    Taking everything into account, would you say that (OUR COUNTRY) has on balance benefited or not from being a member of the European Union? 1-Benefited, 2-Not benefited, 3-dk.

  5. 5.

    Which three of the following values best represent the EU? 8-Solidarity, support for others.

  6. 6.

    In your opinion, which of the following values should the European Parliament defend as a matter of priority? 4-Solidarity between EU member states.

  7. 7.

    The introduction of Eurobonds (European bonds). 1-strongly in favour, 2-fairly in favour, 3-fairly opposed, 4-strongly opposed, 5-dk.

  8. 8.

    The distribution of asylum seekers should be decided at EU level on the basis of binding quotas. 1-totally agree, 2-tend to agree, 3-tend to disagree 4-totally disagree, 5-dk.

  9. 9.

    The EU has recently decided to allocate financial support as a matter of priority to the member states currently facing the most migratory flows on their coasts and borders. Do you think it is…? 1-A good thing, 2-A bad thing, 3-Neither good nor bad, 4-dk.

References

  • Abts, K., Heerwegh, D., & Swyngedouw, M. (2009). Sources of Euroscepticism: Utilitarian interest, social distrust, national identity and institutional distrust. World Political Science, 5(1), 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arampatzi, A. (2016). Constructing solidarity as resistive and creative agency in austerity Greece. Comparative European Politics, 16(1), 50–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auer, S. (2014). The limits of transnational solidarity and the Eurozone crisis in Germany, Ireland and Slovakia. Perspectives on European Politics and Society, 15(3), 322–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bechtel, M. M., Hainmueller, J., & Margalit, Y. (2014). Preferences for international redistribution: The divide over the Eurozone Bailouts. American Journal of Political Science, 58(4), 835–856.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bendiek, A., & Neyer, J. (2016). Europäische Solidarität: die Flüchtlingskrise als Realitätstest. SWP-Aktuell, 20. Berlin: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik -SWP- Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-46541-3.

  • Clements, B., Nanou, K., & Verney, S. (2014). We no longer love you, but we don’t want to leave you: The Eurozone crisis and popular Euroscepticism in Greece. Journal of European Integration, 36, 247–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Closa, C., & Maatsch, A. (2014). In a spirit of solidarity? Justifying the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) in National Parliamentary Debates. Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(4), 826–842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Communication Department of the European Commission. (2018). The Schuman Declaration. May 9, 1950 from https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/europe-day/schuman-declaration_en.

  • Daniele, G., & Geys, B. (2015). Public support for European fiscal integration in times of crisis. Journal of European Public Policy, 22(5), 650–670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Down, I., & Wilson, C. J. (2008). From ‘permissive consensus’ to ‘constraining dissensus’: A polarizing Union? Acta Politica, 43, 26–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ederveen, S., de Groot, H. L. F., & Nahuis, R. (2006). Fertile soil for structural funds? A panel data analysis of the conditional effectiveness of European Cohesion Policy. Kyklos, 59(1), 17–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2018). EU financial Assistance. https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/economic-and-fiscal-policy-coordination/eu-financial-assistance_en.

  • European Commission. (2011). European Commission Green Paper on the feasibility of introducing stability bonds. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-11-820_en.htm.

  • European Council. (2011). The economic and political challenges for Europe, Speech by President Herman Van Rompuy at the opening of the Academic Year 2011–2012, European University Institute. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_PRES-11-425_en.htm.

  • Ferrera, M., & Burelli, C. (2019). Cross-national solidarity and political sustainability in the EU after the crisis. JCMS Journal of Common Market Studies, forthcoming.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genschel, P., & Hemerijck, A. (2018). Solidarity in Europe. European University Institute, School of Transnational Governance, Policy Brief, May 2018.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giannopoulou. A. (2016). Main points of Alexis Tsipras speech at the Conference Alliance against austerity—for democracy in Europe. Transform! Europe. https://www.transform-network.net/en/focus/overview/article/strategic-perspectives-of-the-european-left/alliance-for-democracy-and-against-austerity-in-europe/.

  • Hobolt, S. B. (2015). The 2014 European Parliament Elections: Divided in Unity. The JCMS Annual Review of the European Union in 2014, 53(1), 6–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobolt, S., & de Vries, C. (2016). Turning against the Union? The impact of the crisis on the Eurosceptic vote in the 2014 European Parliament elections. Electoral Studies, 44, 504–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, L., & Marks, G. (2009). A postfunctionalist theory of European integration: From permissive consensus to constraining dissensus. British Journal of Political Science, 39(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, R. F. (2008). Changing values among western publics from 1970 to 2006. West European Politics, 31(1–2), 130–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kankaras, M., & Moors, G. (2009). Measurement equivalence in solidarity attitudes in europe insights from a multiple-group latent-class factor approach. International Sociology, 24(4), 557–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knodt, M., & Tews, A. (2014). Einleitung: Solidarität im Europäischen Mehrebenensystem. In M. Knodt & A. Tews (Eds.), Solidarität in der EU (pp. 7–18). Baden-Baden: Nomos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kontochistou, M., & Mascha, E. (2014). The Euro crisis and the question of solidarity in the European Union: Disclosures and manifestations in the European Press. Review of European Studies, 6(2), 50–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, T., & Stoeckel, F. (2014). When European integration becomes costly: The Euro crisis and public support for European Economic Governance. Journal of European Public Policy, 21(4), 624–641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, T., Solaz, H., & Van Elsas, E. (2017). Practising what you preach: How cosmopolitanism promotes willingness to redistribute across the European Union. Journal of European Public Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lahusen, C. (2016). Transnational solidarity within the European Union: Towards a framework of analysis. Paper presented at the 8th Pan-European Conference on the European Union, The Union’s Institutional and Constitutional Transformations: Stress or Adaptation? Trento, June 15–18, 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langford, L. M. (2013). The other Euro crisis: Rights violations under the common European Asylum System and the Unraveling of EU Solidarity. Harvard Human Rights Journal, 26, 217–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, L. (2007). Explaining mass-level Euroscepticism: Identity, interests, and institutional distrust. Acta Politica, 42(2–3), 233–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mudde, C. (2014). Fighting the system? Populist radical right parties and party system change. Party Politics, 20(2), 217–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicoli, F. (2015). Eurocrisis and the myths of European redistribution: Illegitimate, unsustainable, inefficient? Perspectives on Federalism, 7(3), 19–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicoli, F. (2016). Hard-line Euroscepticism and the Eurocrisis: Evidence from a Panel Study of 108 Elections Across Europe. Journal of Common Market Studies, 55(2), 312–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicoli, F. (2018). Integration through crises? A quantitative assessment of the effect of the Eurocrisis on preferences for fiscal integration. Comparative European Politics, Online Preprint.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicoli, F., & Zeitlin, J. (Eds.) (2019). Europe beyond the polycrsis? Politicization and integration in the age of shifting cleavages. Special Issue for the Journal of European Public Policy (JEPP), scheduled to appear in Q1/2019.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pantazatou, K. (2015). Promoting solidarity in crisis times: Building on the EU Budget and the EU Funds. Perspectives on Federalism, 7(3), 49–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preuss, U. (1999). National, supranational, and international solidarity. In K. Bayertz (Ed.), Solidarity (pp. 281–289). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Radu, L., Negrea-Busuioc, E., & Bârgãoanu, A. (2014). The rise of Euroscepticism in times of crisis. Evidence from the 2008–2013 Eurobarometers. Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations, 16(1), 9–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Risse, T. (2014). No Demos? Identities and public spheres in the Euro Crisis. Journal of Common Market Studies, 55(6), 1207–1215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sangiovanni, A. (2013). Solidarity in the European Union. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, pp. 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serricchio, F., Tsakatika, M., & Quaglia, L. (2013). Euroscepticism and the global financial crisis. Journal of Common Market Studies, 51(1), 51–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stjernø, S. (2004). Solidarity in Europe: The history of an idea. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taggart, P. (1998). A touchstone of dissent: Euroscepticism in contemporary Western European Party Systems. European Journal of Political Research, 33(3), 363–388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Treib, O. (2014). The voter says no, but nobody listens: causes and consequences of the Eurosceptic vote in the 2014 European elections. Journal of European Public Policy, 21(10), 1542–1543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Klingeren, M., Boomgaarden, H. G., & De Vreese, C. H. (2013). Going soft or staying soft: Have identity factors become more important than economic rationale when explaining Euroscepticism? Journal of European Integration, 35(6), 689–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhaegen, S. (2017). What to expect from European identity? Explaining support for solidarity in times of crisis. Comparative European Politics, pp. 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verney, S. (2015). Waking the ‘sleeping giant’ or expressing domestic dissent? Mainstreaming Euroscepticism in crisis-stricken Greece. International Political Science Review, 36(3), 279–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Cologne, Germany

    Ann-Kathrin Reinl

Authors
  1. Ann-Kathrin Reinl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ann-Kathrin Reinl .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The European College of Parma Foundation, Parma, Italy

    Marco Baldassari

  2. Department of Law, Politics and International Studies, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Emanuele Castelli

  3. Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Matteo Truffelli

  4. Center for Studies in European and International Affairs, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Giovanni Vezzani

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Reinl, AK. (2020). Euroscepticism in Times of European Crises: The Role of Solidarity. In: Baldassari, M., Castelli, E., Truffelli, M., Vezzani, G. (eds) Anti-Europeanism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24428-6_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation