The European Identity and the Long Shadow of the Economic Crisis. A Multi-Level Analysis

The role of the EU in the economic crisis which has concerned the European countries in the last years, has been ambivalently perceived. While amongst the most affected countries (Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Greece), some have been particularly critical towards the supra-national government (namely Greece, Portugal and Spain), other (Ireland and Italy) have not been that dissatisfied with the EU’s efforts to reply to Countries’ difficulties. This has happened despite the fact that reforms have been harsh in all of the four countries and that most of the countries concerned were amongst the most pro-European in Europe. So, this contextual situation is an interesting example to understand country level differences that can affect people’s perceptions of the supranational integration process.

Therefore, an analysis in the changes of individuals’ preferences towards the EU in the last decade will show the consequences that the economic crisis has involved for people’s identification with the EU. While, a multilevel analysis will explore contextual differences in order to explain why, indeed, EU’s replies to countries’ difficulties have been differently perceived in different countries.