EUI – YouGov – SOLID ‘Solidarity in Europe’ (SiE) project

The main objective of this project is to track the evolution of solidarity in Europe (SiE), understood as the sharing of risks and resources amongst Europeans. The project fields a yearly, nationally-representative, large-N survey since 2018, with the aim of monitoring the extent to which support for solidarity has changed over time, particularly in light of the emergence of collective, pan-European crises such as COVID-19, the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine, and, more recently, shifts in transatlantic relations with the US. The project is a collaboration between the EUI and YouGov, hosted under the EGPP’s remit and, between 2023 and 2025, in partnership with the ERC project SOLID and Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, who conjointly developed the survey and provided input and resources. The project produces research outputs such as datasets, scientific journal articles, policy briefs and media contributions, and will replicate and expand the survey annually in the upcoming years.

All eight waves of the survey (2018-2025) are publicly available on GESIS and Cadmus (see links below) and are fielded every Spring; each wave’s sample size has grown over the years, reaching 29,784 respondents in 2025, while the country pool has been gradually expanded since the first rendition of the survey (2018), reaching 21 EU member states and the UK in the 2025 SiE survey wave.

Since the beginning of the project, the survey explores how and why Europeans support European solidarity, particularly examining their relationship with Europe and the broader EU community against the background of existential, interconnected crises. The 2020 survey broadened the scope of the research to inquire which ‘kind of society’ and which ‘kind of Europe’ citizens wish to live in. The 2021 wave introduced additional questions on COVID-19 vaccines and restrictions; the 2022 wave enriched the questionnaire with a dedicated module on the war in Ukraine; the 2023 wave incorporated new items designed to further probe solidarity preferences under different crisis contexts and along different types of policy instruments; and the 2024 wave turned to a wider set of geopolitical challenges, including perceptions of US foreign policy, attitudes towards China, international trade and tariffs, and the war in Gaza.

To promote research on European solidarity, the project hosts a yearly call for contributions, culminating in the EUI ‘Solidarity in Europe’ Conference in Florence, hosted by the EGPP (RSCAS). The conference, one of the key events on European solidarity around the year, fosters the production and sharing of the most recent scholarship on solidarity in Europe and the EU. Moreover, the conference is also an important forum for scholars to participate in finetuning future survey waves, adjusting them to new challenges, crises and opportunities that arise over time. The 2026 edition will take place on 18-19 May.

The project is currently led by Dietlind Stolle (McGill), Lorenzo Cicchi (EUI), and Luis Russo (Leiden University). The team gratefully acknowledges the support from Hanspeter Kriesi (EUI), Ioana-Elena Oana (EUI), Alexandru Moise (EUI), and Daniel Kovarek (EUI). Other members of SOLID provided input and collaboration during fieldwork, which is ensured by YouGov under the direction of Stephan Shakespeare, and Jonathan van Parys. Previous members include the two project founders Philipp Genschel (Bremen and EUI), Anton Hemerijck (EUI), and Mohamed Nasr (ETH Zürich).

Research based on SiE data is welcome; for any inquiry concerning the survey or the SiE conference, please contact egpp@eui.eu.

Dataset (Cadmus)

Datasets (Gesis)

Peer-reviewed articles

Conference Addresses

Policy briefs

Press and blogs

State of the Union addresses

Preprints and conference papers

Cookie setting

We use cookies to help personalise content and provide a better experience. By clicking Accept all, you agree to this, as outlined in our Cookie Policy. To change preferences or withdraw consent, please update your Cookie Preferences.