Euroscepticism which emerged after accession in the new EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe has attracted much attention of the scholars. However, in the recent years the presence of parties challenging the EU grew mostly within old member states, a development especially visible in the most recent EP elections. In this sense, the idea that there is no alternative to EU membership seems to prevail in Central and Eastern Europe, based on perceptions related to economic and security benefits. However, the ongoing economic and financial crisis undermined such positive consensus on the benefits of integration and sparked debates on issues of legitimacy in transnational governance across Europe, highlighting the role of identification with European political institutions. This paper argues that 10 years after the first Eastern enlargement and in the context of a perceived declining performance of European economy, the importance of more stable, affective and value-based factors must be re-evaluated in studies of EU attitudes. Specifically, it presents the results of a multi-level study of political identities as determinants of popular Euroscepticism in new and old member states, before and after the crisis.