BRUSSELSOctober 23, 2020 – In a difficult time marked by the coronavirus pandemic, confidence in the EU remains stable and Europeans trust that the EU will make the right decisions in response to the pandemic going forward. In the new Standard Eurobarometer survey published today, European citizens identify the economic situation, the state of the member states public finances and immigration as the three main concerns at EU level. The economic situation is also the main concern at the national level, followed by health and unemployment.
In the new Eurobarometer, carried out in July and August, concerns about the economic situation are reflected in the perception of the current economic situation. 64% of Europeans think the situation is “bad” and 42% of Europeans believe their country’s economy will recover from the adverse effects of the coronavirus outbreak “in 2023 or later”.
Europeans are divided (45% “satisfied” versus 44% “unsatisfied”) about what the EU is doing to fight the pandemic. However, 62% Say it trust the EU to make the right decisions in the future and 60% remain optimistic about the future der EU.
- EU trust and image
Trust in the European Union has remained stable 43% since autumn 2019, despite differing public perceptions during the pandemic. Confidence in national governments and parliaments has increased (40%, +6 percentage points and 36%, +2, respectively).
A majority of respondents in 15 Member States say they trust the EU, with the highest values recorded in Ireland (73%), Denmark (63%) and Lithuania (59%). The lowest levels of trust in the EU can be observed in Italy (28%), France (30%) and Greece (32%).
The proportion of respondents with a The EU’s positive image corresponds to that of a neutral image (40%). 19% of the respondents have a negative image of the EU (-1 percentage points).
In 13 EU Member States, the majority of respondents have a positive image of the EU, with the highest proportions observed in Ireland (71%), Poland and Portugal (both 55%). In 13 other Member States, the EU conjures up a largely neutral image for respondents, with the highest proportions observed in Malta (56%), Spain, Latvia and Slovenia (all 48%).
- Main concerns at EU and national level
The citizens mentioned that economic situation how the most pressing problem facing the EU – over a third (35%) of all respondents, a sharp increase of 16 percentage points since autumn 2019, and an increase from the third to the first company. Concerns about the economic situation have not been so great since spring 2014.
Europeans are also increasingly concerned about that State of public finances in the Member States (23%, +6 percentage points, the highest level since spring 2015), which is at the same level from fifth to second place immigration (23%, -13 percentage points), with the latter now reaching its lowest level since autumn 2014.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic health (22%, new item) is the fourth most common problem at EU level. The output of the Environment and climate change has lost ground by 8 percentage points to 20%, followed by unemployment (17%, +5 percentage points).
Likewise the economic situation (33%, +17 percentage points) has overtaken health as the main issue at national leveland rises from the seventh to the first position. Although in second place, health has seen a significant increase in mentions since autumn 2019 (31%, +9 percentage points) and thus reached the highest level ever in the last six years.
unemployment has also gained significantly in importance (28%, +8 percentage points), followed by rising prices /Inflation/ Cost of Living (18%, -2 percentage points) that Surroundings and Climate change (14%, -6 percentage points) and National debt (12%, +4 percentage points). Mentions of immigration (11%, -5 percentage points) are at their lowest level in six years.
- The current economic situation
Since autumn 2019, the proportion of Europeans who consider the current situation of their economy to be “good” (34%, -13 percentage points) has decreased significantly, while the The proportion of respondents who rate this situation as “bad” has risen sharply (64%, +14 percentage points).
At the national level, a majority of respondents in 10 countries say the economic situation is good (up from 15 in autumn 2019). The proportion of respondents who say that their economy is in good shape ranges from 83% in Luxembourg to 9% in Greece.
- The coronavirus pandemic and public opinion in the EU
Are Europeans shared on the actions of the EU institutions fight the coronavirus outbreak (45% “satisfied” versus 44% “not satisfied”). However, a majority of respondents in 19 Member States is satisfied with the measures taken by the institutions of the European Union to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The highest positive numbers are found in Ireland (71%); Hungary, Romania and Poland (all 60%). The majority of respondents are “dissatisfied” in seven countries, particularly in Luxembourg (63%), Italy (58%), Greece and the Czech Republic (55% each) and Spain (52%). In Austria, the same proportion of respondents are satisfied and not satisfied (both 47%).
However, More than six in ten Europeans trust the EU to make the right decisions in the future (62%). The most frequently cited priorities for the EU’s response to the coronavirus pandemic are: defining a strategy to deal with a similar crisis in the future and developing funding to find a treatment or vaccine (37% each). 30% believe that the development of a European health policy should be a priority.
The personal experiences of Europeans with Containment measures were very diverse. Overall, almost three in ten Europeans said it was quite easy to deal with (31%), while a quarter said it was quite difficult to deal with (25%). Finally, 30% say it was “both easy and difficult to do”.
- Important policy areas
Asked about the goals of the European Green Deal‘Europeans continue to identify’Development of renewable energies‘And’ fight against Plastic garbage and leader in the matter of Single use of plastic ‘ as the top priorities. More than a third believe that helping EU farmers (38%) or promoting the circular economy (36%) should be a top priority. Slightly more than three in ten respondents believe that reducing energy consumption (31%) should be a top priority.
Support for economic and monetary union and for the euro remains high75% of respondents in the euro area are in favor of the EU’s single currency. In the EU27 as a whole, support for the euro increased to 67% (+5).
- Union citizenship and European democracy
A majority of people in 26 EU Member States (excluding Italy) and 70% across the EU feel like citizens of the EU. At the national level, the highest values are in Ireland and Luxembourg (89% each), Poland (83%), Slovakia and Germany (both 82%), Lithuania (81%), Hungary, Portugal and Denmark (all 80%) record. .
A majority of Europeans (53%) say it is satisfied with the way democracy works in the EU. The proportion of respondents who are “not satisfied” has risen by 3 percentage points to 43% since autumn 2019.
- Optimism for the future of the EU
Finally at this difficult time60% of Europeans they say are optimistic about the future of the EU. The highest levels of optimism are observed in Ireland (81%), Lithuania and Poland (both 75%) and Croatia (74%). The least optimism can be found in Greece (44%) and Italy (49%), where pessimism outweighs optimism, and in France, where opinions are evenly divided (49% versus 49%).
background
The “Summer 2020 – Standard Eurobarometer” (EB 93) was carried out face to face and exceptionally between 9 July and 26 August 2020 in the 27 EU Member States, the United Kingdom and the candidate countries with online interviews completed[1]. 26,681 interviews were carried out in the 27 Member States.
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[1] The 27 member states of the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom, five candidate countries (Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey) and the Turkish Cypriot community in the part of the country that is not controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus .
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European Commission / Brussels
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