About the project

Crises such as the war in Ukraine, the influx of refugee into Europe or climate change have put the spotlight on European cooperation beyond the internal relations of the European Union, involving a wider group of European countries. These and similar crises in the past have also highlighted the need for a more forward-looking approach to developing patterns of cooperation that are effective in tackling these problems and supported by citizens. The TFoE project therefore asks What future do European citizens and elites want for the relationship between the EU and non-EU countries? By answering this question, the project shifts the prevailing focus on present/past-oriented attitudes towards European integration towards a direct consideration of preferences for the future, both for the public and for elites. In addition to mapping the preferences of the public and elites (policy-makers), the project examines the similarity of the preferences of citizens and elites and the underlying reasons for the preferences identified.

The project takes a comprehensive approach, examining both polity and policy aspects of future relations and considering EU–non-EU relations from both inside and outside the EU. To reduce the complexity of such relations due to the heterogeneous group of non-EU countries, TFoE relies on a most similar systems design and focuses mainly on European countries that are either EU members or could theoretically join the EU, e.g. Norway, Switzerland or the UK.

The project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council (7 Mill NOK). Project number: 352334. The project period is 2025-2028.