Publication
The political effects of intra-EU migration: Evidence from national and European elections in seven countries
The European Union (EU) guarantees free movement for its citizens. While migration's social and economic effects are well-known, this article examines how immigration from Central and Eastern Europe influences political support for Eurosceptic parties.
- Author
- Dimiter Toshkov
- Date
- 09 September 2024
- Links
- Read the full article here
In addition to social and economic effects, migration also has a political effect. In order to study this lesserknown effect the article explores 30 national and European Parliament elections in seven Western, Northern and Southern European countries between 2004 and 2019. For each election, the researcher analyses how the local-level share of the vote for right- and left-wing Eurosceptic parties varies as a function of the levels and changes in the local-level share of Central and Eastern European immigrants from the population, controlling for the influence of relevant demographic, social and economic variables.
The article reports strong evidence that immigration contributed to support for right-wing Eurosceptic parties in the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Austria and possibly in Italy and Denmark as well. The effects are specific to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) immigration and distinct from any possible influence of non-Western immigration. The effect measured did not diminish over time and is discernable in national and European Parliament elections.