What Drives Pro-EU Preferences? Territorial Identities, Immigration and Redistribution Attitudes

Public opinion on European integration is shaped not only by policy concerns but also by citizens’ emotional attachments to their territory. This study examines how policy domains—specifically immigration and redistribution—interact with territorial identities to structure support for the European Union (EU). We develop a theoretical framework that compares individual-level utilities of EU membership with the coun terfactual scenario of exiting the supranational union. Our argument emphasizes the role of discrepancies between national and EU-level policies, and introduces a novel account of how regional, national, and European attachments shape opinions on the goodness of the EU. Using cross-sectional survey data from a broad sample of EU member states, we find that pro-immigration attitudes robustly predict support for continued EU membership, while preferences for redistribution exert a more modest influence. Importantly, territorial identities emerge as powerful predictors: individu als with strong regional identification, particularly when paired with anti-immigration views, are significantly more likely to express eurosceptic attitudes. These findings highlight the increasing importance of cultural and identity-based cleavages in shaping public support for European integration, pointing to a shift away from purely economic explanations.