Feelings of 'Europeanness' are apparently on the rise, according to a new study published in the journal Science. Despite gloomy analyses over the EU's failure to connect to its citizens, Europe's younger generations are increasingly feeling "European" next to their national identities.
A team of Austrian sociologists found that older generations of citizens who only feel attachment to their nation – not to "Europe" - are dying out. The sociologists based their findings on European Commission's Eurobarometer studies from 1996 to 2004, which contain the question whether respondents feel, for example, only Swedish; Swedish and European; European and Swedish; or only European.
The group of respondents who express that they have "multiple identities" is on the rise, i.e. European identity is not replacing national identity. In 2004, 58 percent had some sense of feeling European, a number which is set to rise to 68.5 percent by 2030 if the current trend continues. Luxembourgers are the most "European" with 78 % feeling some sort of European identity. The Italians came second at 72 %, followed by the French (68 %) and the Spanish (64 %) while Swedes (45 %), Finns (43 %) and Brits (40 %) are at the other ends of the spectrum.
The study thinks that increasing media reporting at the European level, increasing mobility within the EU - across national borders - both among students and workers, and the fact that we live in the information communication age are factors contributing to Europeanness.
The study covers neither the period following the rejection of the EU constitutions in France and Netherlands nor the enlarged union of 25 member states, so we'll have to wait for new studies to find out what the present mood is. Being the ever European I think we'll have even better figures in the next study!
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