Austrian Euroscepticism has grown markedly, but voters still show little support for leaving the EU

Austria is often cited as an EU state that could potentially follow the UK in holding a referendum on EU membership, but how have attitudes toward the EU changed in the country over recent years?

Paul Schmidt states that while there remains a consistent majority among Austrian citizens for staying in the EU, criticism of European policymaking has increased substantially since the early 2000s. Nevertheless, survey evidence indicates that there was an immediate reduction in the number of Austrian citizens who support leaving the EU following the UK’s referendum in June 2016, and a so called ‘Auxit’ remains an extremely unlikely prospect in the near future.

ESO: Background information: Brexit Ambassador series: The view from Austria http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-ambassador-series-the-view-from-austria/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

---