![]() Secondly, it actually matters a great deal whether people say that they have become “much more supportive” of tighter border controls, or just “a little more supportive”. It is more about l’Europe qui protège than about a retreat from European integration towards national fortresses. This may suggest that, if any drawbridge were indeed to be pulled up, people would prefer this to be directed at countries outside Europe rather than the neighbouring member states. At the same time, support for increased control of the EU’s external borders was, in every country, stronger – or much stronger – than that for intra-EU border controls. When asked about the changes that people would like to see in Europe once the coronavirus crisis is over, only a minority of people called for the European Union to receive more control over borders between member states: from 26 per cent in Italy to 48 per cent in Portugal. To start with, a distinction should be made between support for national borders and Europe’s external borders. There are at least five good reasons to believe that this was more a symptom of many people feeling vulnerable – rather than a demonstration of a rising opposition against the Schengen Zone. Luckily, that has not happened – and is unlikely to. Ranging from 48 per cent in Denmark to 73 per cent in Portugal, a substantial share of the population reported strong support for stricter border controls.Īt first glance, this finding could be read as a warning that free movement – a cornerstone of European integration – was under serious threat, and that covid-19 could provoke a nationalist turn among European voters. ![]() ![]() One of its most unequivocal results was a widespread belief that, over the long term, borders needed to be controlled more. At the end of April, at the height of covid-19 in Europe, ECFR conducted a public opinion poll in nine EU member states.
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