A new Eurobarometer survey published on Friday 26 July revealed that Europeans consider respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law (38%) and economic, industrial and trading power (34%) to be the EU’s main strengths, ahead of good relationships and solidarity between Member States (28%), says the European Commission in a press release.
When it comes to the areas that the EU should address as a priority, respondents most often cite the environment and climate change (33%) and irregular migration (also 33%), followed by security and defence (29%) and the war in Ukraine (25%), as well as public health (21%).
By contrast, the war in Ukraine, mentioned by 50% of respondents, tops the list of challenges facing the EU.
Irregular migration and environmental issues and climate change come second and third, cited by 41% and 35% of respondents respectively.
When asked which values the EU best embodies compared to other countries in the world, Europeans put respect for fundamental rights and values and freedom of speech and expression first (53% in both cases), the press release continues.
58% of Europeans are fairly optimistic about the EU’s future (compared to 37% who are fairly pessimistic). The highest proportion of people saying they are ‘very optimistic’ are in Romania and Ireland. The most pessimistic (fairly pessimistic and very pessimistic) are the French.
The survey was carried out between 25 June and 2 July 2024 in 27 Member States; 25,658 citizens were surveyed online.
Link to survey: https://aeur.eu/f/d55 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)