Policy Paper on political opinion on differentiation as policy choice

This policy paper will investigate the level of support foropposition to European integration in the different policy areas where differentiation takes place through interviews with members of governments at national and local level and representatives of political forces across the political spectrum along both the leftright and EuroscepticEurophile axes This allows to 1 track the variation of preferences from one policy area to the other 2 map internal divisions among parties which are likely to influence government positions 3 map national divisions and 4 target more precisely causes and drivers of Euroscepticism The elite interviews hence will be aimed at mapping preferences on EU integration among governments and political forces in selected Member States Czech Republic France Finland Germany Italy the United Kingdom and selected nonEU countries Norway Turkey Ukraine In terms of scope of time and resources available EU IDEA has to limit the elite survey to this selection of countries It will still generate comprehensive research findings as the selection of Member States is representative in geographical terms and in view of different positions regarding differentiation as a policy choice Additionally this task assesses elite views on differentiation in countries with particular relations to the EU the UK on its way out of the Union Turkey as an accession country the Ukraine linked to the EU through a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and Norway representing an EEA country