Disgusting the European Union doesn’t work. Poles at the fore in support for the EU [SONDA¯]

Satisfaction with citizens has increased during the pandemic, according to the latest Eurobarometer, published on Tuesday (8 February). According to the poll, the percentage of those who assess the EU positively rose from 40 percent in autumn 2019 to 50 percent by the end of 2020 and remained more or less at the same level. The generally bad image of the EU is currently mentioned by 14 percent of respondents.

54 percent of respondents view the EU positively and 10 percent negatively. In an opinion poll commissioned by the European Parliament, 26,510 people aged 15 and over were surveyed in 27 Member States from early November to early December 2021.

The proportion of citizens who believe that things in the EU are going in the right direction increased by 12 percentage points (up to 39%) from spring 2019 to the end of 2020, reaching its highest level in 11 years. While during the past crises (such as the financial crisis in 2011, the migration crisis in 2016 or in 2018) the share of people who believed that the EU was going in the wrong direction increased, over time this share decreased – with 46 percent in autumn 2019 to 44 percent. in the current poll.

Poles at the fore in support for the European Union. The French are the least satisfied with the EU

In the poll, 70 percent of those questioned were in favor of the European Union, of which most Poles – 82 percent. This is 5 percentage points more than in spring 2021. France had the lowest proportion of EU supporters – 56 percent.

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On average, 72 percent of citizens believe that their country benefits from EU membership. The range is from 95 percent in Ireland to 54 percent in Austria. In Germany, this share is 73 percent. Italy saw a huge increase in the number of supporters of the Union – by 11 percentage points – to 63%.

EU citizens set the priorities for the European Parliament

The Eurobarometer also asked about the work of the European Parliament. Slightly less than a third of respondents (32%) chose democracy as the most important value to defend, followed by freedom of speech and expression (27%) and the protection of human rights in the EU and worldwide (25%). Respondents in the Czech Republic and Hungary placed the protection of human rights in an equal first place, next to democracy.

Healthcare was indicated as the most important political issue for the European Parliament, 42 per cent of respondents, followed by combating poverty and social exclusion (40 per cent) and tackling change (39 per cent).

Climate change is a priority in Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Malta, Austria and Finland, according to the survey. Younger respondents more often indicated climate policy as the most important issue; among people aged 15-24, the proportion was 48% across Europe.

(KNA / house)