Does Euroscepticism or the economy drive parties’ orientation towards the European Union? A comparison between EMU and non-EMU countries

Supposing that parties in EMU countries behave differently from other EU parties in supporting the integration process, this paper explores, simultaneously, the role of economic variables as well as voters’ attitudes and party characteristics in the EU positioning of European national political parties. Empirical analysis relies on CHES data for 84 parties in 14 European countries in the period 1999-2010. Fractional logistic regression results show that public Euroscepticism drives parties positioning only in the EU countries. Ideological extremism is, instead, negatively related to European integration only in the Eurozone. EU positioning is responsive to larger parties in all the countries. Among economic determinants, party support for the EU is conditioned only by price stability in Eurozone countries, while all the economic determinants affect non-Eurozone parties.