The Eurobarometer made by the European Parliament (EP) and published on Wednesday, September 3, shows that citizens of the European Union believe that the biggest problems that the European Parliament should approach are inflation and cost, security and defense and struggle against poverty and social exclusion.
- The survey was conducted between May 5 – May 29 in all 27 Member States, and the information was collected face to face or through video interviews. 26,410 EU citizens participated, aged 15, and results are weighted according to the population of each country.
The data of the Eurobarometer show that the main area in which the EU should strengthen its position in the world, according to the expectations of European citizens, is defense and security (37%), followed by competitiveness, economy and industry (32%) and independence and energy resources (27%).
In Romania, food security and agriculture are the main area in which the EU should strengthen their position (34%), then defense and security (30%), followed by competitiveness, economy and industry (29%).
What are the expectations of the European Parliament
In the current political context, 68% of European citizens believe that the EU should play a more important role in protecting its citizens in the face of global crises and security risks.
The main area in which Europeans want the EU and the European Parliament to get involved is inflation, increase in prices and cost (41%), followed by EU (34%, three percent than in February) and the fight against poverty and social exclusion (31%).
The areas that EU citizens consider the least important are humanitarian aid (12%), consumer protection (12%), gender equality and inclusion (11%) and digitalization (10%).
For the citizens of Romania, the priorities are:
- Inflation, price increase and life cost (42%),
- support for economy and creating new jobs (37%),
- Agriculture and food security (29%).
9 out of 10 Europeans want the EU to be more united
The study also shows that 9 out of 10 European citizens (90%) want EU Member States to be more united, and over three quarters (77%) believe that the EU needs more means to cope with current global challenges.
Of the Romanian respondents, 43% believe that the EU should play a more important role in protecting citizens in the face of crises. 73% of Romanians say Member States should be more united, and 71% believe that the EU needs more means to cope with current global challenges.
“EU citizens want Europe to focus on security and economy. They look at the EU for stability and expect a strong and united European voice in today's uncertain world. Therefore, our priorities and the next long -term budget of the EU must allow the Union to cope with new geopolitical realities. Our citizens, ”said president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, at the presentation of the Eurobarometer.
The image of the EU, mostly good
In general, the European Union has a good image among European citizens. On average, 52% of Europeans have a positive opinion about the EU, while 32% are neutral. In Romania, the percentage is lower among those who have a positive impression about the EU – 45%.
Nearly three out of four respondents from all over the EU (72%) states that EU actions have an impact on their daily lives. Of these, half considers that the impact is a “positive” (50%), 31% that the impact is not “very positive, negative” and 18% that the impact is “negative”.
The percentage of 50% positive impact is also kept in Romania, while 12% believe that the EU has a negative impact on their lives.
Romanians, the highest percentage of those who believe that the role of EU in protecting against global crises should not become more important
Ask if, in the future, the role of the European Union in protecting citizens against global crises should become more important, 68% of them agreed. Instead, 11% think the EU should get less involved.
In Romania, the percentage of those who believe that the role of EU in protecting citizens should be less important is the largest in the whole Union – 28%. 43% of Romanian respondents believe, however, that the role of EU should be more important in protecting citizens.
A percentage of 67%of Romanians believe that our country has benefited from the EU member position, the main reasons being that the EU offers new working opportunities (39%), the EU improves the standard of living of Romanians (26%) and the EU contributes to the economic growth in our country (24%).
