EU Cohension Policy and Identification with the EU
Lys Ziebell, Fani Mitaki & Christin Gebauer (2023)
Abstract:
They say money makes the world go round, but can it buy citizens allegiance for the EU? Citizens identifying themselves with the EU is an essential foundation for the EU polity to thrive. However, the EU houses member states under one roof whose various regions have different characteristics and needs in turn. To create cohesion in the EU, the eponymous policy was brought to life. Making up a third of its budget, the EU’s main investment policy, Cohesion Policy, aims at reducing regional disparities (European Commission 2023). Regional characteristics, like socio-economic factors, distinguish one category of region from another and are amongst others significant in terms of how much Cohesion Policy spending a region and its citizens receive (European Commission 2021). Apart from the amount of allocated funds, other factors related to Cohesion Policy, like the adequacy of projects financed by Cohesion funds for a specific region, play a determinant role in its perception (Dellmuth/Challmers 2018). The Cohesion Policy instrument in general has a broad scope of functions, ranging from creating better employment structures to climate change prevention (EP Think Tank 2023). But do these factors make it more or less likely for citizens granting the EU more allegiance and developing a European identity? Although the relationship between Cohesion Policy and European identity formation has already been investigated in previous research (e.g. Borz et al. 2022; Landes 2020; Dabrowski et al. 2019), a research gap regarding rural regions has been identified. Motivated by this empirical puzzle, this project addresses the research gap by examining significant predictors concerning EU Cohesion Policy for identification with the EU in rural regions. Contradicting existing research, our chief takeaways is that regional identification does in fact play a crucial role in creating a breeding ground for European identity formation.
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