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AbstractCohesion Policy is a core policy of the European Union, the main objective of which is to address uneven economic growth across the EU by promoting balanced and sustainable development. Given its characteristics, it certainly has a great impact on the daily life of European citizens and can compensate population groups and places less favoured by the implementation of the internal market and economic and monetary union. As a result, Cohesion Policy is expected to shape regional support for European integration. This study tests this assumption using regional data for the EU‐28 in a period that includes the recent phases of expansion and recession, in a scenario characterized by growing anti‐EU rhetoric. The results suggest that a greater amount of EU funds spent in the region does not stimulate support for the Union. However, an appropriate temporal distribution of the resources allocated to the region could have a positive effect.

This study analyses the impact of growth (in absolute and relative terms) of the European regions on the attitudes towards the European Union (EU) of their citizens. It does so in a period of socioeconomic turbulence caused by the financial and sovereign debt crises, the accession to the Union of countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the spread of anti-European rhetoric. In a first stage, regional indicators of support for and trust in the EU are calculated from the microdata of several Eurobarometer surveys. They confirm interesting changes in the regional distribution of citizens' attitudes during the period analysed, which vary between the two indicators. In a second stage, these indicators are merged with data on regional growth to assess the impact of the latter on citizens' perception of the EU. The results suggest that support for and trust in the EU are more widespread in regions with a dynamic economy. This positive impact of growth remains significant and sizeable after controlling for several economic characteristics of the region. However, the impact of regional growth on attitudes towards the EU is not the same in all regions. The effect of support and trust is more intense in regions with per capita income above the EU average.

This study analyses the impact of growth (in absolute and relative terms) of the European regions on the attitudes towards the European Union (EU) of their citizens. It does so in a period of socio-economic turbulence caused by the financial and sovereign debt crises, the accession to the Union of countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and the spread of anti-European rhetoric. In a first stage, regional indicators of support for and trust in the EU are calculated from the microdata of several Eurobarometer surveys. They confirm interesting changes in the regional distribution of citizens' attitudes during the period analysed, which vary between the two indicators. In a second stage, these indicators are merged with data on regional growth to assess the impact of the latter on citizens' perception of the EU. The results suggest that support for and trust in the EU are more widespread in regions with a dynamic economy. This positive impact of growth remains significant and sizeable after controlling for several economic characteristics of the region. However, the impact of regional growth on attitudes towards the EU is not the same in all regions. The effect of support and trust is more intense in regions with per capita income above the EU average.

Cohesion Policy is the main policy tool of the European Union and the backbone of its regional policy. Given its characteristics, it is the EU policy with the greatest impact on the daily life of European citizens and can compensate population groups and places less favoured by the European integration process. As a result, the implementation of Cohesion Policy in a region is expected to shape the degree of regional support for the process of European integration. This study tests this assumption using regional data for the EU28 in a period that includes the recent phases of expansion and recession, in a scenario characterized by growing anti-EU rhetoric. The results suggest that a greater amount of EU funds spent in the region does not stimulate regional support for the Union. However, an appropriate temporal distribution of the resources allocated to the region could have a positive effect on support.

AbstractUsing 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.

Does the perception of the EU vary across countries and regions? To what extent has the support for European integration and citizens' attitudes towards the EU in regions with different socio-economic contexts evolved? Are they affected by the Cohesion Policy? More specifically, does the perception of the EU vary with the intensity of the policy in the region and with the effectiveness in which the funds allocated are finally spent? Is there a relationship between the deviation in funds' allocations and actual expenditures, and the socio-economic characteristics of the region? Finally, are citizens in growing and, particularly, converging regions more prone to support the European project and have positive attitudes towards the EU?

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 deliverable.

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 deliverable. This work tries to give some light to answer, at least partially, these questions by means of a key assumption. For most people in Europe, their experience with the EU takes place in the national political arena. In fact, one of the major EU policies is the Cohesion Policy that accounts for some 350 billion euros in the 2007-2013 programming period, about a third of total EU budget. Still, this policy is managed mostly locally. When individuals think on Europe they usually do it from a local point of view. The consequences of European integration depend not only on EU policies but also on how national, regional and local governments manage them. The Cohesion Policy is basically a regional development policy. Consequently, the territorial dimension is a key aspect that needs to be considered. In fact, most imbalances in economic and social (e.g. education) terms take place within every country and even within every region. In this respect, the perception of the Cohesion Policy and their impact on the development of a European identity could well vary between individuals in rural and urban areas. Therefore, we provide a specific look at the urban – rural divide of the way mechanisms and determinants impact on citizens' European identification.

This paper reviews the theoretical arguments provided by the extant literature for understanding the process of creation of a European identity. We discuss the grounds of mechanisms and determinants driving citizens' identification with Europe, stressing the role of the territorial dimension on European identity formation. More precisely, our focus is on the literature that have considered the link between European identity and EU policies that influence the citizens' socio-economic conditions, in general, and Cohesion Policy in particular. This is a major policy within the EU that accounted for some 350 billion euros in the 2007-2013 programming period, about a third of total EU budget. Consequently, it is expected to determine the way citizens identify with the European project, both in the regions more and less benefited by the policy. The study also considers arguments supporting a sort of urban-rural divide in European identity, which could interact with the influence of the Cohesion Policy. Initial descriptive evidence on these links is provided based on results from a comprehensive survey for 15 EU member states.