Citizens’ confidence in the European Union has grown since the European elections in May 2014. The uncertain economic situation and immigration are among the main issues still causing concern for the electorate.
According to a mid-December Eurobarometer survey, the first since the Juncker Commission took office on November 1, the majority of European citizens have a positive opinion of the European Union.
The survey, carried out on a sample of 32,598 citizens of EU member states and candidate countries, found “an improvement in key political indicators” and showed that the number of those who have a positive image of the European Union and trust the
European Union has increased in last six months to 39 and 37 percent respectively.
The trust in the EU has risen most in Luxembourg (18), Spain (14 points) and Slovakia (14), while it dropped in Belgium, Bulgaria and Greece.
The proportion of citizens with a negative view of the EU has fallen from 25 to 22 percent since June, but the number of those who feel that their voice counts in the EU has fallen to 40 percent from its ten-year high of 42 percent just after the May elections.
The survey showed that the European Union’s economic situation was clearly the number one worry for European citizens as only 22 percent of those surveyed were optimistic about the next year and 46 percent of those who believed “the worst is still to come.”
However, the support to euro stands at 67 percent in the eurozone and 56 percent in the EU.
In terms of citizens’ main concerns, immigration continues to rise in the ranking of the most frequently cited issues at national and EU levels. With 24 percent it is now the fourth most frequently cited item at EU level. In Malta, the UK and Germany citizens even cite it as number one concern.
As many as 71 percent of Europeans say they are in favour of a common European policy on migration, while the majority of EU citizens 52 percent view immigration between the member states in a positive light.
Read the Eurobarometer survey.
