Hungarians more supportive of European Parliament
European citizens are looking more and more favorably on the European Union. They increasingly feel that their voices count in the EU and that their countries have benefited from being member states, according to a recent poll. An above-average 72% of Hungarian respondents said they think their country has gained from being a member of the EU.
The "Parlemeter 2017" of the European Parliament takes a close look at citizens’ opinions on EU membership as well as on their attitudes towards the European Parliament, its priorities, actions and mission. Within the framework of renewed debate on the future of Europe, 47% of European citizens feel that their voice counts in the EU, the best result since the European elections of 2009, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.
A clear majority of Europeans continue to support their country’s membership in the EU, with some 57% of respondents feeling that EU membership is a good thing for their country, almost as many as before the crisis. Most respondents in all Member States say that EU membership has benefited their country. Finally, an increasing number of citizens find that things are going in the right direction in the EU (31%, up six percentage points compared to March 2017).
The European Parliament also sees an uptick in public opinion. An increase of eight percentage points now sees 33% of all citizens having a positive image of the European Parliament, while 42% of respondents still have a neutral image.
Secondly, the Parlemeter 2017 identifies areas where Europeans expect protection from the EU. Terrorism comes out, with 58% of citations, as the main threat Europeans want the EU to offer protection against. The precarious economic situation suffered by many Europeans defines the following issues such as unemployment (43%), and poverty and exclusion (42%). Protection against uncontrolled migration, with 35% on average, still ranges high on citizens’ agenda.
As for Hungarians, 72% of respondents said they think that their country has gained from being a member of the EU, while on average 64% of Europeans share this view. More than half of Hungarians, 56%, consider that being an EU Member State is good for Hungary, which is an eight percentage-point increase from March this year.
HungariansĘĽ opinion on the European Parliament is less enthusiastic, with 44% expressing a neutral opinion on the EP and 36% a positive one, although this is a significant increase from 25% last year. Europeans and Hungarians both share the view that the greatest dangers are terrorism, unemployment, poverty and uncontrolled migration.
The fieldwork in the survey was carried out between September 23 and October 2, 2017. A total of 27,881 Europeans aged 15 or over were interviewed face-to-face in all 28 Member States.
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