What makes the EU special according to its citizens?

New Eurobarometer survey indicates that it’s a strong democracy + a strong economy

The latest Eurobarometer survey takes a look at European opinions and attitudes to the political bloc that they inhabit – the European Union. According to the poll, what Europeans value most about this unique supranational organization is its respect for democracy as well as the fact that its overall economic standing on the global scale is quite decent.

Indeed, the European Union, which began as a purely economic project has grown into something much more complex over the decades – a body that champions the ideals of democracy, which includes human rights and the rule of law. It’s rather telling that these aspects were cited as the most important feature of the bloc by 38% of respondents, ahead of the EU’s economic strength and original raison d’etre. The latter, nevertheless, came second, being picked by 34% of the people.

European citizens also put high emphasis on the good relationships and solidarity between the EU Member States (28%). After all, without these, the union itself would disintegrate.

Overall, following the last European Parliament elections, EU citizens feel optimistic about the future of the bloc – more precisely a 58% majority. A majority (55%) are also somewhat confident about the strength of EU democracy during the new term of the European Parliament and European Commission.

European concerns and challenges

Still, it’s not all rose-tinted glasses given that Europeans are also acutely aware of the geopolitical situation in the rest of the world and the fact that the EU is not a separate universe. 64% of EU citizens tend to be concerned about the EU's security in the next five years.

Breaking it down into specific challenges that the bloc must contend with and find a way to manage successfully are: the war in Ukraine (50%), irregular migration (41%), environmental issues (35%), the cost-of-living crisis (32%) and terrorism (29%).

The Flash Eurobarometer 550 was conducted between 25 June and 2 July 2024 across the 27 Member States. 25,658 EU citizens were interviewed online.