Solidarity on a divided continent: Perceptions of ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ determine European citizens’ willingness to help other EU countries

Abstract

This article argues that citizens structure their fiscal solidarity with other European Union countries along a ‘centre–periphery’ divide. This claim is empirically investigated using a Heckman probit selection model on two surveys in 2020 and 2021 among citizens of 13 European countries, which allows to account for differences in the familiarity of the issue and other countries. The results show that individuals in centre countries are more likely to express solidarity with other centre countries than with periphery countries, and vice versa. More broadly, the findings show that citizens perceive a power hierarchy among European Union member states, and that there is a spatial relational dimension to European fiscal solidarity. These results underscore the challenges facing the European Union in achieving greater fiscal solidarity. They also highlight the need to address the structural inequalities between member states.