THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUBLIC SUPPORT AND EUROSCEPTICISM – TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN?
Keywords:
European integration, Euroscepticism, public support, public opinionAbstract
The European Union exists in the current context in the shape of an incomplete social contract, combining characteristics traditionally attributed to states with specific elements of intergovernmental structures. The result of this unprecedented addition consists in a hybrid structure, an open-ended experiment that exceeds the limits of fixed theoretical frames. Built on a solid democratic foundation, the European Union has created a new community with shared identity and goals that are more or less assumed by its citizens. Thus, the public factor has acquired a central dimension both for the gradual process of European integration and for the very existence of the European project. Starting from these premises, this paper seeks to frame the concepts of public support and Euroscepticism, as well as to elucidate the relationship between the aforementioned concepts.References
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