Eurobarometer: Greeks divided over whether “EU membership is a good thing”

Majority of the European citizens believe that membership to the European Union is a good thing. The average of EU citizens believing so is 57 percent. However, the percentages vary significantly from country to country. Data revealed by the latest Eurobarometer survey shows that the attitude of the inhabitants of EU countries is the same as it was before the financial and economic crisis that debuted in 2007.

Percentage of people who think EU membership is a good thing:

• EU28 57%
• Ireland 81%
• France 53%
• UK 49%
• Italy 35%
• Greece 33%

A total of 73 percent of respondents prefer the European Union to find a common answer to the latest geopolitical events such as

• the growing power and influence of Russia  71%, of China  71%,  Brexit 63%, the election of Donald Trump 64%,  rather than for individual Member States to conduct individual initiatives.

A large majority is also asking that the EU make more efforts to face current challenges, such as the fight against terrorism 80%, bankruptcy  78%, environment protection 75% and the fight against tax fraud 74%.

The Eurobarometer survey shows that an increasing number of Europeans 43% believe that their voices matter at a European level, more than any other year since 2007 and until now, with 6 percent more compared to last year.

A total of 63 percent of Europeans believe their voice is heard at a national level.

Ultimately, a major part 84%  believe that inequalities between social classes are significant, while one third of them believe that the crisis will continue for many years.

Greeks

Greeks appear evenly divided in their views of the European Union. No wonder.

•  34% of those polled said that belonging to the EU is a good thing

against

• 32% who said the opposite.

33% said EU membership is neither good nor bad.

The survey, commissioned by the European Parliament and published on Thursday,suggests that Greek public opinion differs significantly from the EU average, which saw 57 percent of citizens saying belonging to the EU is a good thing, as opposed to 14 percent who expressed the opposite opinion.

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said the findings of the survey into Europeans’ attitudes toward the European Union are, “for the first time since the start of the crisis in 2007, very encouraging.”

“They show that European citizens expect the Union to respond with a single voice to their very acute fears about recent international upheavals that have made the world more uncertain and dangerous,” he said, adding that it is up to political leaders to show citizens who believe in the EU that they are right.

To this end, he said, “we must persuade them, by our daily work and our decisions, that the Union can both protect and improve their daily lives.”

The survey was commissioned by the European Parliament and published on Thursday.

The fieldwork for this Eurobarometer survey of the European Parliament, conducted by Kantar Public through face-to-face meetings with 27, 901 EU citizens, was carried out between 18 and 27 March 2017.