Europeans want greater co-operation and unity from their governments to help the EU better face the continent’s defence, security, and economic challenges, according to a new survey published on Wednesday (3 September).
Some 90 percent of Europeans want the bloc to be more unified, the Spring Eurobarometer poll found.
And 37 percent of respondents said that the EU should focus more on defence and security in the coming years, followed by 32 percent who said that competitiveness and the EU economy would be the main challenge facing the EU.
That will need more jointly financed projects and a larger EU budget, according to the survey.
Some 58 percent said that it was very likely that more EU projects will need to be jointly funded, while more than 70 percent were in favour of the EU budget being increased and of being funded much more by new revenues, such as levies on carbon emissions, with lower national contributions by member states.
Negotiations on the next seven-year EU budget, covering the bloc’s spending between 2028 and 2034, will intensity in the coming months.
The survey was based on more than 26,000 face-to-face interviews in May with people aged 15 and over across the EU27.
The focus on greater unity and joint action by EU governments could be the result of Russia’s continued war in Ukraine and the impact of Donald Trump’s presidency in the United States.
The Trump administration’s imposition of trade tariffs on EU exports and its threats to scale back its support for NATO’s eastern flank have created major challenges for the EU this year. The latter pushed EU leaders to agree to set up an €800bn ‘ReArm’ programme focused on funding new defence spending and joint procurement schemes.
The findings are likely to feed into preparations for EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union speech in Strasbourg next week.
Meanwhile, 85 percent agreed that the distribution of EU funds should be based on respect for democracy and EU values, a statistic which will be useful to the EU Commission, which has withheld and threatened to withhold funds from Hungary and Poland for rule of law breaches.
Romanians tended to be the most reluctant to support joint EU action on defence and security, while Austria, Greece, and the Czech Republic had the lowest figures when it came to positive perceptions of the EU.
Despite this, 73 percent of respondents felt that their country had benefited from being a member of the EU – peace and security, co-operation with other countries and economic gains were seen as the main benefits.
Increased job opportunities were cited in eastern Europe, particularly Bulgaria and Romania.
The survey, which was commissioned and published by the European Parliament, painted a mixed view of the assembly.
Only 41 percent have a positive view of the European Parliament.
Policies tackling rising prices and inflation should be the main priority for MEPs, said the respondents.
Parliament spokesperson Delphine Collard told reporters on Tuesday that the survey demonstrated “very high expectations of the EU institutions on defence and security and competitiveness and economic issues.”
There were also “concerns that we do more together and have more finance,” she added.
Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.