LibGuides: Local democracy in 2020: Perception of the EU

Do Voters Want Domestic Politicians to Scrutinize the European Union? (published: 2019)
In the light of important political events that go beyond the nation state (e.g., migration crisis, climate change, Brexit), domestic politicians are increasingly pressured to scrutinize and speak out on European policy-making. This article argues show that Members of Parliament are not disadvantaged when allocating effort to European affairs as compared to local and national affairs.
Understanding citizen perception of European Union Cohesion Policy the role of the local context (published: 2017)
The way in which Cohesion Policy is perceived by citizens is a crucial issue for the process of European identity-building. Based on the idea that citizens’ perceptions depend on the local socioeconomic context in which Cohesion Policy is implemented, the paper seeks to define alternative combinations of the economic, social and institutional features of different local policy implementation settings, and to identify them empirically in European NUTS-2 regions. The results highlight a broad variety of policy settings, whose characteristics are relevant to the outcome of Cohesion Policy implementation
Citizens' perception of the Cohesion Policy and support for the European Union (published: 2019)
Using a novel database, this study assesses the impact of the perception of the personal benefits of the EU Cohesion Policy on support for the European project. The results show that the gap in support between people who claim to have benefited from the Cohesion Policy and those who feel they have not vanished once differences in individual traits and reverse causality are taken into account. This means that, despite the significant positive effect that the intensity of the Cohesion Policy in the region exerts on the perception of the policy, it does not stimulate support for the EU
Understanding the process of creation of European identity - the role of Cohesion Policy (published: 2020)
This paper reviews the theoretical arguments provided by the extant literature for understanding the process of creation of a European identity. The authors discuss the grounds of mechanisms and determinants driving citizens’ identification with Europe, stressing the role of the territorial dimension on European identity formation.
The perception of the EU and European integration in the East European Neighborhood (published: 2016)
East European neighbors (EEN), specifically Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, have declared European integration a national strategic objective. Yet, beyond the common goal of joining the European Union, these neighboring countries have perceived differently what is European integration and their ‘Europeaness.’ As a result, the pursuit of European integration has influenced differently political actors and processes from the three EEN. This paper aims at exploring the variables that define the distinct influence of European integration process on the EEN political processes.
Profiling identification with Europe and the EU project in the European regions (published: 2020)
Recent political events in the European Union highlighted a growing dissatisfaction of citizens in several EU regions with the EU institutions’ management of socio-economic and financial challenges. This eventually led to a political legitimization crisis, whose drivers are partially shared among EU regions and partially area-specific. This paper addresses three research questions: i) To what extent do EU citizens identify with Europe and the EU project? ii) Do European regions have different patterns and level of identification? iii) Are the results driven by specific socio-economic variables?

Mapping the determinants of EU citizen’s perception and identification
Why individuals identify with Europe? In the absence of direct personal experiences with the EU and with people of other member states, how can the identification with the European project be developed? Despite the great number of EU competences, legislation and policy programmes, they are mostly implemented by member states. Are these EU policies amplifying citizens’ exposure to the idea of the EU? And finally, are citizens aware of the aims and perceive the benefits of the Cohesion Policy? If so, does it contribute to strengthen the shared political values under the European Social Model and, consequently, is it a driver of the identification with Europe? Giving answer to these questions is the main objective of this study.