After Polarisation: Stable Consensus on European Mutual Assistance Is Possible

Abstract

Building a large and durable consensus for mutual assistance policies in the EU is challenging. Even in times of crisis, member states express different preferences, and policies must reckon with democratic politics. This column presents evidence from a randomised survey to assess support for various EU budgetary assistance packages across five member states. A majority of packages are supported in all countries, although individual design features have significant effects on public approval. Importantly, it is possible to design packages such that they obtain majority support across all sampled countries, a key condition for success with policies of this kind.

Keywords: coronavirus, COVID-19, recovery fund, fiscal capacity, survey methods, mutual assistance