Support for Europe among Europe’s Ethnic, Religious, and Immigrant Minorities

The defeat of the Reform treaty in the June 2008 Irish referendum, after the French and Dutch rejections of the Constitutional Treaty in 2005, made public support for European integration a central concern among those interested in the fate of the project. We examine the attitudes of individuals who belong to minority groups within EU countries toward European integration, relying on the 2006 European Social Survey in 21 countries. We find that minority populations, defined in terms of language, self-identification, religion, and immigrant status, are nearly universally more likely to favor further integration of Europe. Minority group members have come to see the EU as a potential ally in promoting their rights and welfare...Read more