Europeans rallied around the EU flag after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was met with a rapid and robust response by EU governments. This column uses a survey of European university students to study the impact of the invasion on attitudes toward the EU and Europe. It finds that pro-European attitudes improved in the immediate aftermath of the invasion. These effects are particularly strong for the societal aspects of European integration, rather than individual considerations. The invasion seems to have brought Europeans closer together, by rallying them around the common European flag.