The relationship between EU fiscal transfers and the European policy profile of political parties

This research note examines how fiscal transfers within the European Union shape the programmatic strategies of domestic political parties. We argue that a country’s net-contributor or net-receiving status conditions the strategies how parties articulate their positions on European integration. In net-receiving states, Euroskeptic parties strategically mute EU-related rhetoric to avoid undermining their broader policy stance. Moreover, the increase in pro-EU positions among parties in net-receiving states is driven mainly by support for further EU-level redistribution. We evaluate these claims using Chapel Hill Expert Survey data from 2002–2024 and a regression discontinuity design that uses continuous measures of net contributions to the EU budget. The empirical analyses, in which we also test for a linear relationship, align with our expectations. Euroskeptic parties mention the EU less in net-receiving contexts while beneficiary status solely shifts party positions toward pro-redistribution preferences at the EU level. These results illustrate how Euroskeptic parties cope with the potential positive impacts of the EU.