Utilitarianism and Support for the EU in the United Kingdom and France in the Post-Maastricht Era: A Question of National Context?

Departing from the holistic, cross-national approach of much of the previous research into public opinion on European integration, this article offers a comparative analysis of French and British public opinion on the EU in the post- Maastricht era. In particular, it examines the effects of individual utilitarian appraisals on EU support and considers whether extant national socio-economic records and attachments to particular socio-economic models moderate these effects. Using Eurobarometer data, it is thus demonstrated that in a context of increased visibility and politicisation of the EU in France and the UK, citizens' individual benefits extracted from European integration are a source of EU support for both countries - and are playing an ever-increasing role - but that source of support is nevertheless less powerful for British citizens than for French citizens. The utilitarian argument as a vector of EU support is ultimately delimited by the national socioeconomic situation of each nation and the type of EU model favoured by French and British individuals. In the light of these findings the paper concludes that EU policy makers need to devise flexible modes of integration whilst achieving positive outcomes in the socio-economic sphere if they are to satisfy both national publics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]