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 adopts a comprehensive approach, examining both the polity and policy dimensions of future relations and considering EU–non-EU relations from both inside and outside the EU. In its initial design, and to reduce the complexity posed by the heterogeneous group of non-EU countries, TFoE planned to rely on a most similar systems, focusing primarily on European countries that are either EU members or could theoretically join the EU such as Norway, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. 

However, following an extension of the project through the Recruit a Researcher from Ukraine for an Ongoing Research Project scheme, the geographical focus has been broadened to include additional EU candidate countries in Eastern Europe, in particular Ukraine and several Western Balkan states. This expansion not only widens the country scope of the project but also establishes a research collaboration with Prof. Dr. Roman Petrov from the National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. 

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

The extension of the project is equally funded by the Norwegian Research Council (1.5 Mill NOK). Project number: 361267. The project period is 2026-2028.

June 2026

Jared and Andreas participated in the Conference of Europeanists, organized by the Council for European Studies (CES) in Dublin, and in the inaugural conference of the European Political Science Society (EPSS) in Belfast. Jared presented a pilot study to inform the design of the TFoE Project’s upcoming survey. The focus was on a potential status quo bias in responses regarding preferences for EU–non-EU relations. Results from the Norwegian case, using a wording experiment, do not indicate the presence of a bias toward simple status quo wording. Andreas presented a second paper examining citizen preferences and perceptions of the salience of Norway–EU relations during the 2025 Norwegian election campaign. The main findings point to a comparatively low preferred issue salience —relative to topics such as health and care or defense and security — alongside significant differences in preferred salience depending on individual-level attitudes toward European integration.

January 2026

In late January 2026, we organized a The Future of EUrope (TFoE) project workshop in Trondheim. In addition to bringing the entire project team together for internal discussions, we also welcomed national and international colleagues to reflect on the project’s design and plans for future research activities. It was a pleasure to host everyone and to receive insightful feedback on how best to advance the project.