“In a context of geopolitical uncertainty, the majority of Europeans surveyed believe that the EU should play a more important role in protecting its citizens from global crises and security risks,” according to 68% of respondents to Eurobarometer’s survey, published on September 3 and conducted last May, which collected the views of 26,410 citizens from across EU-27 member states. However, contrary to popular belief, security and defence do not take precedence over other urgent issues reported by European citizens.
Facing challenges together. In its report on the survey’s findings, including percentages, slides and comments, the EU’s polling institute in Luxembourg affirmed that “almost all citizens call for EU member states to be more united (90%), and more than three-quarters believe that the EU needs more resources to address current global challenges (77% across EU states, 85% among Italian respondents).
However, some fundamental inconsistencies in the opinions expressed emerge from an overall analysis of the survey results.
Above all, given the widespread support for sovereignty and rampant Euroscepticism, the Eurobarometer findings and comments appear somewhat overly optimistic.
Security and the economy. According to respondents, “defence and security (37% EU-wide, 28% among Italian respondents) as well as competitiveness, the economy, and industry (32%, 28% among Italian respondents) should be the EU’s focus to reinforce its position in the world”. In order to invest in what matters, almost 8 in 10 EU citizens believe that “more projects should be funded by the EU as a whole rather than individual Member States.” If that is the case, one might legitimately question whether those responding were informed about the composition of the EU budget, its financing (the vast majority of which is provided by Member States) and EU expenditure.
Impact on life: Eurobarometer reports that nearly three out of four respondents (72%) say that EU actions “have an impact on their daily life”.
Half of these respondents saw the impact as positive (50%), 31% as “neither particularly positive nor negative”, and 18% as “negative” (14% of Italian respondents).
Stability and benefits. The EU is regarded as “a place of stability”, with 73% of Europeans saying that their country “has benefited from being a member of the EU”. The main reasons cited by respondents are the Union’s contribution to protecting peace and strengthening security (37%), improved cooperation between Member States (36%), and its contribution to economic growth (29%).
Citizens’ priorities. The questions focused on issues related to the European Parliament, which commissioned the survey. When asked which issues the European Parliament should prioritise, respondents cited
“inflation, rising prices and the cost of living” (41%), “defence and security” (34%), and “the fight against poverty and social exclusion” (31%) first.
For 46% of Italians, tackling inflation and the cost of living is the top priority.
Transparency, a core value. 91% of citizens say that “the European Parliament must have all the necessary information and means to properly control EU spending”. Additionally, 85% of Europeans, representing a majority across all EU-27 member states, agree that “the provision of funds to Member States should be conditional upon their upholding of the rule of law and democratic principles”. As can be seen, answers to questions in this and other surveys may differ depending on how the latter are phrased.
The remarks of the EP President. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said: “EU citizens want Europe to focus on security and the economy. They look to the EU for stability and expect a strong and united European voice in today’s uncertain world. Our priorities and the EU’s next long-term budget must therefore allow the Union to tackle new geopolitical realities.”
