Public support for European solidarity: Between Euroscepticism and EU agenda preferences?

This article investigates public support for two types of EU‐wide solidarity that currently exist, namely member state solidarity (such as transfers to less developed and crisis‐hit countries) and transnational solidarity (such as granting cross‐border social rights to EU citizens). Drawing on data from the 2014 Belgian National Election Study, we find that opposition towards European integration – in particular regarding EU enlargement – reduces citizens' willingness to support European solidarity to a large extent. However, this article reveals that public support for European solidarity cannot simply be reduced to a pro‐versus anti‐integration, nor to a domestic left–right conflict. Citizens' substantive positions towards the EU's social and economic agenda are a crucial element in understanding contestation over European integration issues