This article studies how different types of tolerance and perceived threat affect opinions about the EU immigration policy in Germany and the Netherlands. We assess to what extent social and political tolerance for and sociotropic and personal threats from Muslim immigrants influence EU citizens’ beliefs that immigration is one of the most important issues facing the EU. By experimentally manipulating religion of immigrant, level of perceived threat, and type of tolerance, we examine how people’s attitudes on immigration policies change. Our findings shed light on how EU countries might deal with the rising tide of intolerance toward immigrants and Muslims, and how better policies of integration could be implemented in a multicultural Europe.

The aim of this overview is to critically examine the state of research on the relationship between anti-immigrant attitudes and attitudes toward European integration. We argue that the two most commonly used measures of anti-immigrant attitudes do not fully capture perceived threats from immigrants and opinion about different immigrant groups. Future research should pay more attention to two particular issues: first, scholars could employ methodological techniques that capture the underlying constructs associated with attitudes and public opinion; second, researchers could differentiate between groups within the overall immigrant population. This overview identifies themes in the literature while drawing attention to the need for more research on the behavioral underpinnings of anti-immigrant attitudes and public opinion on European integration.

Are a country’s environmental attitudes linked to its level of economic development? In recent decades, rapid industrialization and the use of cheaper but older production technologies have reduced environmental quality in less developed countries (LDCs). Moreover, these countries have been disproportionally affected by global pollution in that they suffer the effects while having emitted less than industrialized countries. To what extent are people in LDCs ready to make sacrifices to improve environmental conditions? International Social Survey Program 2010 data reveal that people in LDCs are less supportive of international agreements forcing their country to take necessary environmental measures than are citizens in the developed world. Moreover, they are more likely to think that wealthier countries should make more effort to protect the environment, and are less willing to make personal economic sacrifices or change their consumption behavior to accommodate environmental concerns. These results hold even after controlling for post-materialist values, political ideology, personal income, and several other demographic variables.

What explains variation in European citizens’ support for common EU immigration and counter-terrorism policies? We advance extant literature that focuses on the utility versus identity debate by focusing on individuals’ emotional reactions. Drawing on theories of affect, we show that citizens’ emotions about immigration are integral to their preferences for EU cooperation on the dual questions of immigration and terrorism. We hypothesise that while anger about immigration is associated with opposition to cooperation on both policies, fear about immigration is associated with support for a common EU counter-terrorism strategy. Using a large-N cross-sectional survey conducted in Germany and the Netherlands, our analyses confirm our hypotheses. Our findings have implications for the progress of European integration and the scope of public approval of EU common policies.

Citizen support for EU membership in Turkey is an area where to date little research has been conducted, although Turkey has been an EU candidate since 1999. Drawing on pooled Eurobarometer data from 2001, 2002 and 2003, this study examines to what extent attachment to Islam, utilitarian considerations and national identity explain individual support for Turkey's accession to the EU in a possible membership referendum. Logit analyses reveal that attitudes toward the EU do not vary with one's devotion to Islam. This finding implies that Islamic values are not incompatible with being part of the West and attachment to Islam does not affect attitudes toward the West, as has been suggested especially after the attacks of 11 September 2001. When it comes to joining the EU, people evaluate accession on the basis of its influence on national identity and contributions to the national economy in Turkey.