Jürgen Gerhards, Holger Lengfeld & Sophia Schubert. 2015. Legitimacy of European Citizenship. Do Europeans believe that all EU Citizens should have the Right to Vote in another EU Country? Comparative Sociology 14(5): 635-661.

Abstract:

EU citizens living in an EU member state of which they are not nationals may participate in local elections. Based on a survey conducted in three member states of the EU we analyze the legitimacy of this core element of European citizenship. Firstly, we examine the extent to which European citizens support the Europeanisation of local voting rights. The results show that about two-thirds of citizens accept these rights. Secondly, we analyze whether those who reject the idea of equality for all Europeans can be determined by social characteristics. Our analyses show that opponents are not at all determined by socio-structural factors and are barely determined by cultural factors
and hence do not form the basis for a politically mobilized cleavage. All in all, the results indicate that citizens believe in the legitimacy of this important component of European citizenship.