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Does Immigration Undermine Public Support for Integration in the E uropean U nion?
Author(s) -
Toshkov Dimiter,
Kortenska Elitsa
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/jcms.12230
Subject(s) - immigration , european union , politics , political science , economic integration , public support , demographic economics , international trade , economics , public administration , law
It is well established that negative attitudes towards immigrants are strongly associated with lower public support for E uropean integration. But the impact of actual immigration levels on immigration attitudes is still contested. As a result, the relationship between immigration levels and EU public support remains uncertain from a theoretical point of view. We offer an empirical study of the link between immigration from the new EU member states from Central and Eastern E urope ( CEE ) and EU support at the regional level in S pain, F rance, I reland and The N etherlands. The results of the analyses suggest that in all four countries immigration from CEE had negative effects on support for E uropean integration in the host societies. In short, immigration seems to undermine integration, although internal migration within the EU is necessary for the successful functioning of its economic union and the future of political integration.