Cues or performance? Sources of trust in the European Union

Most studies on trust in the European Union claim that the latter is based mainly on citizens' national political trust, which is transferred to the European level. In our paper, we test the degree to which this cueing approach is more explanatory than the competing model of performance attributions. Using Eurobarometer data (2010), we demonstrate that both factors affect trust in the EU almost equally, with performance appearing slightly more influential than national cues. This result contradicts earlier studies as it shows that citizens not only perceive and rate the EU via their own national political system, but they also perceive and rate the EU directly as a political actor on its own.