Danish eighth-grade students hold high expectations for the future of Europe and predominantly identify themselves as Europeans. However, compared to eighth-grade students from other European countries, Danish students are remarkably sceptical about common rules for cooperation and the free movement of labour in Europe. Additionally, fewer Danish students than before expect to vote in future European Parliament elections.

More than 66,000 eighth-grade students across 19 European countries have participated in the European module of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS).

The first main results from the European module, set to be published in all participating countries on 22 February 2024, show that Danish students’ sense of European identity has significantly increased since 2009. Danish students are also among the European students whose sense of European identity has increased the most over time.

However, when it comes to Danish students’ support for common rules for cooperation and their views on the free movement of labour within Europe, the picture changes to reveal a greater scepticism towards the European community. This scepticism is reflected, among other things, in a declining number of students expecting to vote in future European Parliament elections.

So Danish students’ experience of and views on Europe and the EU are complex and may seem contradictory, explains Jonas Lieberkind, associate professor at DPU, Aarhus University.

“The Danish results are remarkable and interesting. On the one hand, Danish students are comfortable with being part of Europe and the EU. They increasingly identify themselves as Europeans, and the study shows that they have very positive expectations for the future of Europe and a widespread belief that Europe will find solutions to even the most difficult challenges. On the other hand, they also show a certain reluctance towards the EU, as reflected in their decreasing expectations of voting in European Parliament elections,” says Jonas Lieberkind and adds:

“Danish youth can largely identify with the abstract concepts associated with Europe. However, they find it more difficult to identify with the concrete cooperation, common rules and the benefits of cooperation that are necessary to fulfil these abstract experiences and expectations.”