According to a Eurobarometer survey published by the European Commission on Thursday, 23 May, the proportion of European citizens who trust the European Union has risen (49%, +2 pp), whereas [the level of trust] has fallen for national parliaments (36%, −3 pp) and national governments (33%, −3 pp).
This is one of the highest levels observed in the past 20 years—higher values having been observed only at the end of 2006 (57%) and at the end of 2004 and 2007 (both 50%).
Nevertheless, this support remains uneven across Member States. In 21 EU countries, a majority of respondents trust the European Union—the highest levels being observed in Denmark (69%), Lithuania (68%), and Portugal (68%). In contrast, the lowest levels of support were expressed in France (34%), Slovenia (39%), and Cyprus (40%).
According to the survey, 77% of Europeans interviewed are in favour of a common defence and security policy for EU countries, whereas 71% of the sample agree that the EU needs to strengthen its capacity to produce military equipment.
The Eurobarometer survey was conducted among 26,400 citizens, who were interviewed face to face, in 27 Member States in April.
See the survey: https://aeur.eu/f/ccl (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)