Brussels, 25/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 25 July, the European Commission published the results of a Eurobarometer poll on the European elections and voter sentiment, in which it detected growing optimism. The Commission says the number of citizens who feel their vote counted is the highest for ten years, rising from 29% in November 2013 to 42 % today. Some 65% of those polled feel they are EU citizens today, compared with 59% in the previous Eurobarometer in the autumn of last year.
The poll asked about the image of the EU, which has become more positive since the autumn, although a relative majority of those polled continue to have a neutral image of the EU (38%, down 1 percent). The number with a positive image of the EU has risen by 4% to 35% and those with a negative image has fallen by 3% to 25%. The Commission explains that this four percent rise in the proportion of inhabitants of Europe who feel positively about Europe is the highest since the Eurobarometer Standard poll in the spring of 2007 (52%, up 6% on the 46% in the poll in autumn 2006).
The impact of the “Spitzenkandidaten”?
More than four out of ten of those polled say that their voice counts in the EU (42%, up 13% on the autumn of 2013). The proportion of European citizens who feel their voice does not count has slumped from two-thirds (66%) to slightly over half (52%). The Commission says this is probably due to the European elections, which took place just before the poll, in which the "My voice counts” idea received the highest backing ever. This feeling is particularly high in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland and Germany. In 16 other member states, the opposite is the case with the greatest proportion of those feeing that their voice did not count being in Greece and Cyprus.
Optimism about the future of Europe has gained ground with more than half of those polled saying they feel optimistic about it (56%, up 5% since the autumn of 2013) and the number feeling pessimistic falling by 5% to 38%. More people in Europe tend to feel that the economic situation will improve over the next twelve months and nearly three out of four are not expecting negative developments. Likewise, for the first time in years, those polled who feel that the impact of the crisis on the job market has reached its worst outnumber those who feel the worst is yet to come, reveals the Commission.
The Eurobarometer poll was carried out on 32,689 individuals in the EU member states and candidate countries between 31 May and 14 June 2014. (SP)