Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), The EU’s contribution to maintaining peace and strengthening security is one of the reasons why most EU citizens still support the European project, according to a new survey.
The finding is timely with conflicts still raging in Ukraine and also the Middle East.
Some have been critical of the EU’s response to both the bitter conflicts but the survey suggests Brussels still has the backing of the majority of Europeans.
One of the main reasons cited by the survey’s respondents is the EU’s contribution to maintaining peace and strengthening security (34%) and the improved cooperation between countries of the Union (34%).
It says that most EU citizens still support the EU and also have a higher interest in the upcoming European elections next year.
The European Parliament survey also reveals, worryingly, that over a third of Europeans (37%) have difficulties paying bills sometimes or most of the time.
It also says that over seven in ten citizens believe their country has benefited from being a member of the EU.
Likewise, the image of the EU has remained stable since March 2023, with 45% of EU citizens having a positive image of the bloc, 38% having a neutral image and 16% having a negative image.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, commenting on the results of the survey, said: “This Eurobarometer shows that Europe matters. In this difficult geopolitical and socio-economic context, citizens trust the European Union to find solutions. A vast majority of Europeans believe that EU actions have had a positive impact on their daily lives.”
The parliament says that “far from the notion of being distant from people’s everyday life” 70% of EU citizens believe that EU actions do have an impact on their daily life.
More than one-third of EU citizens see the fight against poverty and social exclusion (36%) and public health (34%) as the main topics for the European Parliament to prioritize. Action against climate change as well as support to the economy and creation of new jobs (both 29%) follow closely while migration and asylum (18%), currently in ninth position, has increased by seven percentage points since autumn last year.
Metsola added: “Throughout these past five years, we have listened. And the European Parliament has delivered. We are fighting against poverty, social exclusion, and climate change, to create jobs and to defend EU values, such as democracy, human rights, and the freedom of speech”.
As also reflected in the policy priorities, socio-economic hardship still affects many Europeans even if indicators slightly improved in the course of the last six months. 73% (6 pp lower than in spring 2023) of respondents think that their standard of living will decrease in the next year. Over a third of Europeans (37%) have difficulties paying bills sometimes or most of the time.
With the 2024 European elections on the horizon, most Europeans (53%) wish parliament to play a more important role, a majority view in 21 Member States. The majority of Europeans (57%) are interested in these upcoming elections to the European Parliament, a stable result compared to spring 2023 but 6 points higher than in autumn 2018, at a similar moment in time previous to the last European elections. 68% say they would be likely to vote if European elections were held in a week – nine points higher than in autumn 2018.
Metsola, an MEP, said: “But democracy can never be taken for granted. We must protect and preserve it, by casting our vote. Every vote in the upcoming European elections matters.”
The 2023 Eurobarometer was carried out by Verian (formerly Kantar Public) research agency between 25 September and 19 October 2023 in all 27 EU Member States. The survey was conducted face-to-face, with video interviews (CAVI) used additionally in Czechia, Denmark, Finland, and Malta. 26.523 interviews were conducted in total. EU results were weighted according to the size of the population in each country.
