Descrizione del progetto
Un’indagine sugli atteggiamenti nei confronti dell’«Europa sociale»
L’Unione europea si concentra sul rafforzamento della sua dimensione sociale, un impegno che si riflette nella proclamazione del pilastro europeo dei diritti sociali nel 2017. Permangono tuttavia alcune incertezze su cosa significhi effettivamente la domanda di un’«Europa sociale» e in merito al fatto se i cittadini europei sostengano lo sviluppo di politiche a livello unionale per tutelare e rafforzare i diritti sociali nell’UE. Il progetto EUSOCDIV, finanziato dall’UE, studierà gli atteggiamenti dei cittadini nei confronti di varie interpretazioni dell’«Europa sociale» e della solidarietà degli Stati membri. L’obiettivo è valutare le preoccupazioni dei cittadini e in che misura essi sostengono le misure politiche a livello dell’UE volte a tutelare e rafforzare i diritti sociali.
Obiettivo
Political leaders of the European Union increasingly believe that a ‘Social Europe’ is indispensable for the continuation of the European project. Even though the course towards a more Social Europe is set, it remains unclear what the notion of Social Europe actually means, as it can refer to very different policy objectives and instruments. This is a problem since citizens’ support is crucial to democratic decision-making but is also unclear amidst opinions about specific interpretations of Social Europe. That problem is compounded by the lack of scholarly attention to how different citizen interpretations of Social Europe interact and vary across EU member states. This project aims to redress this major scholarly silence, by theoretically and empirically exploring citizens’ attitudes towards various interpretations of Social Europe. Specifically, it aims to unveil (1) to what extent European citizens are concerned about the protection of existing social rights and their further development, (2) to what extent Europeans support the development of EU-level policies to protect and enhance social rights (rather than only relying on domestic social policies in the member states to do so), (3) which combinations of policy measures, reflecting different underlying notions of ‘Social Europe’, are most supported by European publics, and (4) what dividing lines exist regarding these supportive attitudes within and across EU member states. To this end, the project relies on a unique combination of four different large-scale opinion surveys. The empirical results will deepen understanding of the stumbling blocks to consolidating and improving the welfare state and the European Union and identify pathways to strengthen the EU’s social dimension in a way that is supported by European publics. As such, the project clarifies the viability of Social Europe as a political project.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
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Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
1012WX Amsterdam
Paesi Bassi