ABSTRACT
EU leaders and promoters of integration experience difficulties in attracting European citizens’ support for their new political community. At least this is the way the difficult ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, the failure of the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty, the persistent low turnout to European elections, and the growing electoral support of Euroskeptic parties are interpreted. As a consequence, social scientists engaged in European Studies have been looking hard for a European identity since the mid-nineties. They have been searching for any evidence of growing feelings of belonging of European citizens to the EU, in the hope that, despite the fact that European citizens fail to mobilize on request to demonstrate support, they would have come to acknowledge and somehow like or approve of their new Union. 1
