Eastern and/or European? A Re-Assessment of Political Identities as Determinants of Attitudes Towards the EU in Central Eastern Europe

Initial Euroscepticism in the new member states of Central and Eastern Europe has drawn much attention of the scholars. However, in the recent years the response to European integration has been far from uniform in the region. Most studies of pre- and post-accession attitudes point to utilitarian evaluations and domestic proxies as the main sources of variations in support for the EU. This paper argues that almost 10 years after the first Eastern enlargement and in the context of a perceived declining performance of European economy, the importance of more stable, affective and value-based factors must be re-evaluated. Specifically, the ongoing economic and financial crisis sparked debates on issues of legitimacy in transnational governance across Europe highlighting the role of identification with European political institutions. The present paper offers a comparative and multidimensional re-assessment of political identities as determinants of Euroscepticism in the new member states, during the crisis.