Brussels, 26/08/2010 (Agence Europe) - The most recent Eurobarometer opinion poll, published on Thursday 26 August by the European Commission, shows increasing demand from Europeans for greater coordination of economic and financial policies in the European Union.
The poll in May 2010 of more than 26,000 Europeans showed that 75% of them think that stronger coordination of economic and financial policies among EU member states would be effective in fighting the economic crisis. On a country-by-country basis, the support for economic governance is strongest in Slovakia (89%), Belgium (87%) and Cyprus (87%). There was an important shift in favour of stronger economic governance in several countries, in particular, Finland and Ireland (+13 compared with autumn 2009), Belgium and Germany (+7), Austria, Luxembourg and Slovakia (+6) and the Netherlands (+5).
The survey also found that in May 2010 trust in the EU institutions remained higher compared to national governments or national parliaments (42% vs 29% and 31%, respectively), even though confidence in the EU fell at the height of the crisis (to 42% from 48% in autumn 2009). Trust was most pronounced in Estonia (68%), Slovakia (65%), Bulgaria and Denmark (61%), whilst it was lowest in the United Kingdom (20%).
The results of the spring 2010 Eurobarometer highlight citizens' growing expectations from the EU: an increasing number of Europeans believe that neither the United States nor the G20 but the EU is best placed for taking effective action against the crisis (26%, +4% compared to autumn 2009). Europeans are unsure about how to best stimulate economic recovery: 74% believe that measures to reduce national public deficits and debt cannot wait, but 46% approve of taking out further debt to boost the economy (36% disagree and 18% did not express an opinion). In the 16 eurozone countries, 42% of those polled oppose, and 41% favour a policy of increasing the public deficit.
Europeans' main areas of concern in the crisis were the current economic situation (40%; unchanged compared to autumn 2009), unemployment (48%; -3 percentage points) and rising prices (20%; +1). The crisis also had an influence on citizens' perception of the EU: 40% of Europeans associate the EU with the euro (+3), 45% with the freedom to travel, study and work anywhere in the EU (-1), and 24% with peace (-4). When asked about the benefits of EU membership, 49% of Europeans said in May that EU membership of their country was a “good thing” (-4 compared to autumn 2009). Public support for EU membership was still higher than in 2001, when following the downturn after the burst of the internet bubble, public support for EU membership stood at 48%. The results of the Eurobarometer poll can be found at: http://www.ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb73/eb73_en.htm. (A.B./transl.fl)