More than half of European Union citizens believe that the economic situation in their own country will be worse in one year's time and do not expect an improvement in their living conditions, a recent survey commissioned by the European Parliament showed.

However, a majority of those polled said they believed that the EU will find the answers to the present crisis.

The survey was conducted in November and December 2020 on a sample of 27,213 people across the EU’s 27 member countries, including 1,019 in Croatia.

They were asked about their living conditions at the time of the coronavirus pandemic and what they expected a year from now, as well as what they thought about the European Union, the benefits of EU membership, and the role and priorities of the European Parliament.

The survey showed that on average more respondents believed that things are going in the right direction at the EU level – unlike in their own country. About two thirds said they were optimistic about the future of the EU and nearly three quarters said they believed that the EU recovery plan would allow their country’s economy to recover more rapidly from the coronavirus pandemic.

Compared with the autumn of 2019, the number of people holding a positive view of the EU has increased by 10 percentage points to reach 50 percent. However, Europeans on average have slim hopes that the situation would improve in one year’s time.

Some 53 percent of respondents said they thought that the situation with their national economy would get worse, 23 percent said it would remain the same, and only 21 percent said they believed it would get better.

In Croatia, 54 percent thought that the country’s economy would deteriorate, 30 percent that it would remain the same, and only 15 percent believed it would improve. About 30 percent of Croatians polled thought that one year from now they would be worse off than they are today, 45 percent thought their situation would be unchanged, and only 23 percent believed it would improve.

Nearly half said they wanted the fight against poverty and social inequality to be a top priority for the European Parliament. A majority of respondents also wanted the European Parliament to play a more important role in the future, and a majority also thought that the EU needs reforming.

Pessimism in the east

As for the outlook for living conditions, the survey revealed considerable differences between eastern and western Europe.

The highest proportion of pessimists were found in Slovakia (43 percent), Greece (40 percent), Romania (36 percent), Bulgaria (35 percent), and Slovenia (35 percent). On the other hand, only 7 percent of Danes and the same percentage of the Dutch thought they would be worse off a year from now.

In three EU countries more than two thirds of people polled believed that their national economy would go downhill – namely Latvia (68 percent), France (67 percent), and the Czech Republic (67 percent). The highest proportions of citizens expecting the economy to improve were in Malta (42 percent), Ireland (39 percent), and Estonia (34 percent).

Opinion about the EU

Half of all respondents had a positive opinion about the EU, an increase of 10 percentage points compared with the year before, while 14 percent expressed a negative opinion about the bloc.

However, the poll showed large differences among countries. While as many as 77 percent of Irish respondents had a positive opinion about the EU, only 36 percent of Austrians viewed the EU favourably. In Croatia, 47 percent held a positive view of the EU, which is 6 percentage points more than in 2019.

Positive views of the EU are more widespread among people who think that their country’s economies would improve and that they personally would be better off.

On average, the study shows that Europeans think that the situation is somewhat better at the EU level than it at their national level. Yet 45 percent of respondents, mostly young people, believe that the EU is going in the wrong direction.

In 11 member states, including Croatia, a majority of those polled believed that the EU is heading in the wrong direction, including 60 percent in Finland and 59 percent in Spain. In Croatia, 51 percent agreed.

Slovenians and Croatians most critical of their own country

In nine member states, a majority of respondents think that their country is going in the right direction, the largest numbers recorded in Ireland and Luxembourg.

In the remaining 18 countries, a majority think that things in their country are going in the wrong direction, with largest proportions found in Slovenia and Croatia – 79 percent and 78 percent respectively.

However, the survey revealed that Europeans also believe that the EU is the right place to seek solutions for present-day crises – 66 percent of respondents across the continent said they were optimistic about the future of the bloc, while 31 percent said they were not.

Nearly three quarters (72 percent) believed that the EU recovery plan would ensure a faster economic recovery of their own country after the coronavirus pandemic, including 74 percent of Croatians.

Opinion about the European Parliament

Opinions about the EU also translate to how Europeans perceive the European Parliament. 37 percent said they held a positive view of Parliament, the highest proportion since 2007, while 17 percent said they saw it negatively and 45 percent were neutral.

Some 63 percent wanted the European Parliament to play a more important role in the future, an increase of 5 percentage points from the autumn of 2019. Czech Republic, Greece, and France are the only countries where those with negative view of the Parliament were in the majority.

About 40 percent of Croatians polled hold a positive view of the European Parliament, 46 percent have a neutral opinion and 13 percent think of it in negative terms, and 63 percent of Croatians said they wanted the Parliament to play a more important role, while 30 percent said they would prefer it to have a lesser role.

As for the priorities of the European Parliament, 48 percent of Europeans said they wanted Parliament’s main priority to be the fight against poverty and social inequality. This was followed by the fight against terrorism and crime and measures to ensure a quality education for all (each at 33 percent) and environmental protection (32 percent).

Benefits of EU membership

Respondents were also asked if EU membership was good or bad for their own country and whether, on balance, it had benefited from being an EU member. The results to both questions were overall positive.

63 percent of respondents said that EU membership is a good thing for their country, the highest percentage since 2007. Positive answers are in a majority in all member states, except in Italy and in Austria where largest proportions of those polled replied with “neither good nor bad”.

51 percent of Croatians think that EU membership is a good thing, while 9 percent think it is a bad thing.

A large majority of Europeans (72 percent, or 4 percentage points up from 2019) are of the view that their country has benefited from being an EU member. 78 percent of Croatians also think so.

40 percent of respondents cited economic growth as the main reason, while 39 percent named the cooperation among member countries. Croatians said that the EU provides new work opportunities (55 percent) and that EU membership has improved their standard of living. 56 percent of Croatians think that their voice counts in the EU.

As for domestic politics, 52 percent of Croatian respondents said they are not satisfied with the way democracy works in their country.

EU reform

Only 27 percent of respondents said they supported the way Eu currently functions. 44 percent said they supported the EU, but want it to be reformed, 22 percent said they are sceptical about the EU but could change their view if radical reforms were brought about, while only 5 percent said they were opposed to the idea of the EU in general.