Feeling European

From Business Insider:
"This chart shows which Europeans are the least likely to consider themselves European"

 

The British are the least likely Europeans to consider themselves European. That's according to data from the Spring 2015 Eurobarometer report, which we spotted in a recent Morgan Stanley research note. The Eurobaromater report, published by the European Commission, surveyed Europeans to see how they understood concepts of European citizenship and identity. One of the most interesting questions in the report focused on how European citizens viewed their relationships to their home nations and to Europe as a whole, asking whether they identified themselves only by their nationality, by nationality and then as European, as European and then by their nationality, or just as European.

Overall, British respondents were the most likely to identify themselves only by nationality, at 64%. Notably, the British also happen to be fast approaching the June Brexit vote, which will determine whether the country wants to remain in the EU or leave. And for what it's worth, the Morgan Stanley team included this data in a section of their research note which suggested that the "Leave" vote isn't just a tail risk. Citizens from Cyprus (57%), Greece (51%), and Latvia (48%) were also highly likely to identify themselves only by nationality. On the flip side, Luxembourgers were the least likely to identify themselves only by nationality (17%), followed closely by then Germans (25%). Residents of these countries were much more likely to at least partially embrace a European identity.

^ It's not surprising that the British don't feel very European since they barely feel British. Most identity themselves as: English, Scottish or Welsh. It is really only the Protestants from Northern Ireland that see themselves as British even though Northern Ireland isn't part of Great Britain. The Catholics in Northern Ireland see themselves as Irish. The fact that the UK is going to have a vote in June on whether or not to stay in the EU  shows the lack of European identity among the Brits. ^

http://www.businessinsider.com/british-dont-think-they-are-european-2016-4