28 April 2017

European Parliament: Britons want to see more cooperation with EU in security and fighting terrorism new poll finds

In the eyes of a growing number of all EU citizens, belonging to the Union is a good thing. The new Eurobarometer survey also reveals which aspects of EU membership are most important to Britons.

The survey, commissioned by the Parliament and published on Thursday, shows that EU membership is a good thing in the eyes of 57% of all Europeans, up by four percentage points compared to the previous survey of September last year and almost at the same level as in 2007 (58%), before the financial and economic crisis set in.

Support for the European project in the UK has also increased slightly in comparison to last year (+2%). Almost half of respondents in Britain regard the membership of the EU as a good thing.

Need for more EU to fight against terrorism, unemployment, tax fraud

Reacting to the latest geopolitical events, such as the growing instability in the Arab world, the increasing influence of Russia and China, Brexit and the election of Donald Trump , up to 73% of respondents prefer the EU to find a common response over individual national actions.

A strong majority from EU28 also calls for the EU to do more in addressing current challenges, such as the fight against terrorism (80%) and unemployment (78%), protecting the environment (75%) and tackling tax fraud (74%). 

When asked about specific policy areas majority of Brits also wanted to see more cooperation in fight against terrorism (73%) and promotion of democracy and peace in the world (68%). Environmental protection, fight against tax fraud and unemployment also came high and were closely followed by a desire to see more cooperation in external border protection and other security and defence matters. 

Being heard at EU and national level

An increasing number of Europeans (43%) feel that their voices count at EU level, more than at any other time since 2007 and up by 6 points compared to 2016. By contrast, six Europeans in 10 consider that their voice counts in their country, which is 10 points more than in 2016. 

Social inequalities

Finally, the overwhelming majority of Europeans say that inequalities between social classes are significant and a third of them doubt that the crisis will be over in many years. In line with their continental counterparts the majority of Brits agree that issues surrounding social inequality are currently very important.

Full Eurobarometer survey

© European Parliament