Survey for the European elections on June 9th – Only 45 percent have a positive image of the EU

Baden-Baden/Strasbourg, December 12, 2023, report: editorial team In addition to the local elections, the next European elections are on the calendar on June 9th. The first European election after Brexit, the corona pandemic, Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the highest inflation and also the first energy crisis since the 80s.

Now the European Parliament has carried out a survey that shows that only a minority of EU citizens have a positive image of the institutions in Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg.

The message from the European Parliament’s liaison office in Germany in full:

The European Union and its Parliament emerged stronger from the election in May 2019. After decades of steadily declining voter turnout, the trend was reversed. More than half of those eligible to vote went to the polls. In Germany it was almost two thirds of those eligible to vote.

Tired of the election or even more so now?

How has Europeans’ view of their Union changed since then? Is there frustration spreading, election fatigue or even new interest?

With the Parlameter 2023, the European Parliament is trying to get to the bottom of the mood in the EU. 26,523 interviews were conducted across Europe, around 1,500 of them between September 28th and October 19th, 2023 in Germany. Despite or perhaps even because of ever new crises, most people in Europe do not seem to want to turn away from cross-border cooperation.

According to the European Parliament’s latest “Parlemeter” survey, more than seven out of ten citizens are of the opinion that their country has benefited from membership in the EU (72% EU-wide; 70% in Germany; 55% in Austria ).

Peace and security first

The main reasons given by those surveyed were the EU’s contribution to maintaining peace and strengthening security (EU-wide 34%; DE: 43%; AT: 34%) and improved cooperation between the countries of the Union (34%; DE: 43%; AT: 31%).

The image of the EU has also remained stable since March 2023: 45% of EU citizens have a positive image of the Union (DE: 43%; AT: 37%), 38% have a neutral image (DE: 42%; AT: 37%) and 16% a negative (DE: 15%; AT: 26%).

The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola said of the survey results: “This Eurobarometer survey shows that Europe matters. In this difficult geopolitical and socio-economic context, citizens trust the European Union to find solutions. The vast majority of Europeans believe that the EU’s actions have had a positive impact on their daily lives.”

Germans concerned about the rule of law and democracy

A clear majority of the population is aware of the importance of the EU for everyday life. Here, 70% of EU citizens are convinced that EU measures have an impact on their daily lives (DE: 74%; AT: 74%).

The most important topics for respondents in Germany are: democracy and the rule of law (43%), the future of Europe (37%), combating climate change (33%) and defending the EU and protecting external borders (33%).

It’s the equality, stupid

Across the EU, the question of priorities yielded significantly different answers. The European Parliament should focus primarily on combating poverty and social exclusion, say more than a third of EU citizens (EU-wide 36%; DE: 33%; AT: 39%).

In second place across the EU, but mentioned much less frequently in Germany, is public health (EU-wide 34%; DE: 18%; AT: 27%).

Combating climate change (EU-wide 29%; DE: 33%; AT: 37%) remains a central issue.

Support for the economy and the creation of new jobs are also assessed quite differently. While in the EU (29%) and Austria (31%) see this as one of the top priorities, in Germany not even one or one in five (18%) mentioned this as a priority.

Migration is just under the top 10 across the EU

Despite the heated media debate about migration and asylum, the issue is only in ninth place across the EU (18%). However, the importance of immigration has increased by 7 percentage points since autumn 2022.

In the immigrant countries Germany (DE: 27%) and Austria (AT: 28%), migration and asylum are mentioned significantly more often as EU priorities.

President Roberta Metsola added: “For the last five years we have been listening. And the European Parliament has delivered. We fight against poverty, social exclusion and climate change. We fight to create jobs and defend EU values ​​such as democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.”

The energy crisis and inflation continue to weigh on the economy

As can be seen from the policy priorities, many citizens continue to be affected by socio-economic hardship. However, some indicators have improved since the last survey around six months ago.

73% of respondents (6 percentage points less than in spring 2023) believe that their standard of living will decline next year (DE: 73%; AT: 76%). Over a third of Europeans (37%; DE: 28%; AT: 31%) have difficulty paying bills sometimes or most of the time.

21 out of 27 states want more parliamentary influence

With a view to the European elections in 2024, the majority of citizens (EU-wide 53%; DE: 53%; AT: 38%) would like the European Parliament to play a more important role – a majority opinion in 21 EU member states.

The majority of Europeans (57%; DE: 65%; AT: 61%) are interested in the upcoming European Parliament elections. This is a stable result compared to spring 2023 (+1 percentage point). Across the EU, the number is even 6 percentage points higher than in autumn 2018 at a similar point in time before the last European elections.

68% of those surveyed (DE: 72%; AT: 66%) stated that they would probably vote if the European elections took place in a week – that is 9 percentage points more than in autumn 2018.

Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola concluded: “But democracy can never be taken for granted. We must protect and preserve them by casting our vote. Every vote in the upcoming European elections counts.”