ABSTRACT
The latter mediates between public opinion and the state to guarantee the very functioning of the former. This chapter investigates whether European citizenship encourages the development of European identity and whether identity constitutes a determining factor in the process of supra-national values-orientation. It compares UK and Italian attitudes towards the EU and European citizenship. Variables such as post-materialism, age and education cut across the nation-state and north-south divide, influencing the mobilisation of values towards a supra-national identity without undermining national identity. The level of attachment to Europe can also be influenced by a low level of affective involvement that again does not necessarily imply identification. The former comes into existence when a 'reasoning public' is presupposed. The latter mediates between public opinion and the state to guarantee the very functioning of the former. This functional aspect of the public sphere is partially undermined within the process of European integration through which new normative undertakings encourage individual autonomy.
