Old members, new members: Who really believes in the EU? скачать в хорошем качестве

Old members, new members: Who really believes in the EU?

Does being in the European Union for longer make a country more pro-EU? Or does familiarity breed scepticism instead? In this explainer, we unpack one of the most persistent assumptions in European politics: that “old” EU member states and “new” member states relate to the Union in fundamentally different ways. By comparing the Netherlands, a founding member of European integration, with Czechia, which joined during the 2004 Eastern Enlargement, we explore how history, economic experience, and political debate shape public attitudes toward the EU today. We look at how EU membership transformed Central and Eastern Europe after the fall of communism, why Czech support evolved from enthusiastic symbolism to critical pragmatism, and how long-standing members like the Netherlands came to see the EU less as an ideal and more as a practical framework. Along the way, we examine euroscepticism, elections, referendums, enlargement, and the growing focus on performance, fairness, and results rather than ideology. The conclusion may surprise you: despite very different pasts, attitudes across Europe are converging. The EU is increasingly judged not by what it represents, but by how well it works. So is the EU winning hearts, minds, or just cautious approval? And what does that mean for the future of European democracy?