The Impact of Immigration on Attitudes toward the EU: Evidence from a Three‐Country Survey Experiment

Immigration is one of the important issues that influence attitudes toward the EU. It is unclear, however, what causal mechanisms explain this link. Is the causal mechanism rooted in identity the only causal mechanism involved? Or do other causal mechanisms play a role as well? In an analysis of data from an original framing experiment conducted in Germany, Italy, and Czechia, I find that in Italy, exposure to information about negative consequences of immigration leads to more negative attitudes to the EU. This effect happens via causal mechanisms rooted in economic concerns and national politics rather than via the identity mechanism. In Germany and Czechia, the analysis finds no systematic relationship. Overall, this study shows that receiving information about negative consequences of immigration is related to attitudes toward the EU to a lesser degree and via different causal mechanisms than existing literature would have us expect.