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The Myth of German Euroskepticism

Gros, D., (2013), “The Myth of German Euroskepticism”, Project Syndicate, 09 October.

For example, a recent briefing note by Open Europe claims that German citizens tend to trust the European Parliament less than their national parliament and detects a trend of declining German trust in EU institutions since the start of the crisis. Similarly, a commentary by the European Council on Foreign Relations states: “Trust in the EU has plummeted across the continent. Both southern debtors and northern creditors feel like they are victims.” And a Pew Research Center report released in May, entitled “The New Sick Man of Europe: The European Union,” concludes: “The European project now stands in disrepute across much of Europe.”

This narrative is simply wrong. In fact, Germans’ trust in the euro has been increasing throughout the crisis, and, though their trust in EU institutions was falling until a couple of years ago, it has now recovered.

The best indicator of Germans’ attitude toward the euro is provided by a regular poll conducted since 2002 that asks a simple question: “Would you like to have the Deutsche Mark back?”

 

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