Identity and solidarity are interconnected concepts, both constituting elements of a society. However, it is not evident how these concepts can be applicable to a European or transnational setting. While the former concept has been amply dealt with in scientific works, European or transnational solidarity is a relatively new concept with an emerging theoretical frame and little empirical research so far.
The otherwise widely researched concept of solidarity is primarily understood in national settings. At the EU level solidarity can be seen as shared values as well as policy programmes. At the policy level, solidarity is decisive for all policies involving redistribution at the EU-level: cohesion policy and enlargement questions of the EU can be considered as such.
The proposed paper aims at to examine general attitudes about European identity, European solidarity and the support for the European integration process, how these are interconnected and the mechanisms at work behind them. The paper builds on international survey data, the analysis is carried out in a comparative perspective.
