ABSTRACT
Against the backdrop of the Great Recession, there was an increase in the number of vulnerable individuals dependent on the welfare state across EU countries. The chapter examines two aspects of European welfare solidarity. First, we focus on citizens’ attitudes towards the EU’s role in providing social security to EU citizens in need – the sick, the elderly, and the unemployed – and second, we analyse citizens’ willingness to reduce inequalities between rich and poor citizens living across the EU. Overall, an overwhelming majority of respondents (between 78% and 90%) support the notion of European welfare solidarity. The findings, furthermore, indicate how Europe constitutes a specific space of solidarity in this domain. The causal analysis identifies significant social cleavages: self-interest and values are the driving mechanisms in explaining European welfare solidarity. However, social cleavages do not translate into strong political cleavages. Despite these cleavages, our findings demonstrate that Europeans want to strengthen a social Europe, as the high support rates counteract the observed cleavages.
