2024-04-18 02:30:02
Eight out of ten Greeks believe that the EU has an impact on their daily lives and seven out of ten that the country has benefited from joining the EU, according to the latest “Eurobarometer” poll, ahead of the European elections to be held from June 6 to 9 .
73% of European citizens claim that EU actions have an impact on their daily lives, while 20% say they have a very high impact. Furthermore, a large majority of Europeans agree that their country, overall, benefits from EU membership (71%). These results are stable compared to autumn 2023 and remain high across the EU. For Greece, 83% of citizens feel that EU actions have an impact on their daily lives, while 70% of respondents argues that the country benefited overall from joining the EU.
However, Greeks appear pessimistic regarding the evolution of their standard of living in the next five years. 48% of Greeks (32% in the EU) believe that their standard of living will decrease, 35% that it will not change (49% in the EU) and only 13% that their standard of living will improve (15% in the EU) .
Also, the Greeks (74%), the French (69%) and the Cypriots (63%) are the ones who in the EU state that their standard of living has worsened in the last five years. On average 45% of citizens in the EU say that their standard of living has worsened and 49% that it has remained unchanged.
For the future of the EU, 53% of Greeks and 61% of Europeans are “optimistic”, while 43% of Greeks and 35% of Europeans are “pessimistic”. The French appear to be the most pessimistic about the future of the EU (52%).
To the question “what image do you have of the EU?”, 39% of Greeks, compared to 47% of Europeans, answer “positive”. “Neutral”, answered 41% of Greeks, compared to 36% of Europeans and “negative” 20% of Greeks and 17% of Europeans.
Also, 38% of Greeks and 40% of Europeans believe that the EU’s role in recent years has become more important in the world, while 43% of Greeks and 35% of Europeans believe that it has remained the same. Conversely, 18% of Greeks and 22% of Europeans believe that the EU’s role in the world has become less important.
Looking ahead, EU citizens put defense and security (37%) as the top priorities for strengthening the EU’s position on the world stage, followed by energy issues on the one hand and food security and agriculture on the other (and both categories with a percentage of 30″). Respondents in Greece prioritize strengthening the EU’s competitiveness, economy and industry (38%), food security and agriculture (36%) and energy (35%).
European citizens would like to see fighting poverty and social exclusion (33%) and supporting public health (32%) at the center of the election campaign. Supporting the economy and creating new jobs, as well as the EU’s defense and security are in third place with the same percentage (31%). The importance European citizens attach to the EU’s defense and security has increased during the current parliamentary term, mainly because of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is now reported as the first pre-election priority in nine countries, with the highest results in Denmark (56%), Finland (55%) and Lithuania (53%).
For Greeks, the focus of the election campaign should be public health (56%), supporting the economy and creating new jobs (55%) and fighting poverty and social exclusion (55%).
Increased interest in the European elections
60% of Europeans (+11 points compared to March 2019) and 56% of Greeks state that they are interested in voting in the June European elections.
To the question “how likely would you vote if the European elections were held next week?”, on a scale from 1 to 10, 71% of Europeans and 76% of Greek respondents said they would vote.
81% of Europeans, compared to 78% of Greeks, believe that going to the polls is even more important given the geopolitical situation.
With the current parliamentary term coming to an end, 81% of EU citizens, compared to 77% in Greece, have a positive or neutral image of the European Parliament, while only 18% in the EU say they have a negative image. Furthermore, 56% of Europeans, compared to 73% of Greeks, would like the EP to play a more important role.
The Eurobarometer was carried out by the research institute Verian (formerly Kantar) between 7 February and 3 March 2024 in the 27 EU Member States. The survey was conducted by face-to-face and video-conference interviews. In total, 26,411 interviews were conducted. The results were weighted according to each country’s population size.