Does EU Cohesion Policy Help to Foster European Identity?

This paper investigates the impact of EU Cohesion policy on citizens’ identification with Europe. For this purpose, an original and representative survey was conducted in 17 regions across 12 EU member states, which vary considerably with regard to allocations from EU Cohesion policy and attitudes to the EU. We estimate the impact of awareness about the EU Funds, as well as perceptions about benefits for a respondent’s home region from EU membership in general and Cohesion funds in particular on the likelihood that a respondent develops a European identity. We adopt a novel gradual approach to measuring EU identity by considering various stages in the shift from a sole identification with one’s home country to a sole identification with Europe. Multilevel models allow us to control for well-known individual drivers of identification with Europe, such as political interest, trust in EU institutions, or attachment to Europe, as well as regional/national factors, such as actual Cohesion Fund allocations as well as frequency, saliency and tone of national and regional media coverage of Cohesion Policy. We find that knowledge of Cohesion policy matters for developing identification with Europe, and indeed awareness of the Cohesion Fund matters more than awareness of other Structural Funds (the European Regional Development Fund or the European Social Fund). Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.