Why Adding Duties to European Citizenship Is Likely to Increase the Gap Between Europhiles and Eurosceptics

Abstract

Maurizio Ferrera’s policy proposals primarily address those Europeans who are already European-minded and self-select into transnational interactions and European engagement. I suggest addressing the Eurosceptics. On the one hand, if intra-European mobility fosters European identity, then we should provide incentives for stayers to overcome their reservations and move around rather than giving them a premium for staying at home. On the other hand, given the widening gap between mobile and immobile Europeans, the answer to Euroscepticism might not lie in promoting more mobility across European member states but in addressing the increasing socio-economic divided and opening up the resulting ‘echo chambers’ within countries. By trying to engage in a dialogue with Eurosceptic co-nationals Europhiles might be able to find better answers than by repeating the Europhile mantra.