STRONGER TOGETHER… IN AN EVER CLOSER UNION?

Abstract

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the European Union (EU) is experiencing one of its most serious security and geopolitical challenges since the end of the Cold War. As the EU was founded with the ultimate purpose of keeping peace in Europe, European politicians claim the EU is now needed more than ever. Both vertical European integration – with deepened cooperation in defence policy on EU level – as well as horizontal integration – with enlargement of the EU with additional member states in Eastern Europe – has lately gained priority on the EU’s agenda.1 Simultaneously, right-wing Eurosceptical parties are on the rise in EU member states, 2 which could pose a potential threat to the European integration project. In this thesis, regression analysis is applied to Eurobarometer (EB) data from the autumn of 2023, to analyse the East-West dimension3 in support among EU citizens, with regard the previous mentioned integration areas, through the lens of David Easton’s Political system theory. The findings show that EU citizens are generally positive towards both further vertical integration, i.e. deepened security cooperation, as well as further horizontal integration, i.e. welcoming new member states. This is also aligned with Political system theory, as this theory assumes the citizens want the political system to deliver solutions to problems they experience. 4 The two regression analyses show that there is a limited effect of an East-West dimension in support of further enlargement, but not a significant effect from East-West dimension for an EU common defence and security policy.