EU Open Data Portal
12 results
2012 - Eurobarometer Survey - Two years to go to the 2014 European Elections ,
Now that the 2014 European elections are within sight, it seemed appropriate to carry out a large-scale survey of Europeans’ perceptions of the European Union, their knowledge of the institutions and their expectations in this time of crisis. ,The fieldwork for this Eurobarometer / European Parliament survey was carried out between 2 and 17 June 2012. The survey was carried out face to face with 26 622 citizens by TNS opinion in 27 EU countries. ,Main findings : ,The image of the EU is improving in the eyes of the majority of Europeans. Furthermore, and for the first time, an absolute majority says that membership of the EU is ‘a good thing’. ,However, it must be stressed that the majority of the people questioned still think that their voice ‘does not count in the EU’, although there is a marked increase in those who think, on the contrary, that their voice does matter in the EU. When questioned about European identity, Europeans believe that the ‘values of democracy and freedom’ and ‘the single currency, the euro’ are its main components, far ahead of all the others. As in previous surveys, the fight against poverty and social exclusion is easily first in the list of priorities that Europeans would like to see defended by the European Parliament. And, more specifically on action to fight the crisis, they cite employment and combating unemployment more than anything else. On the basis of the results, it is certainly not putting it too strongly to speak of lack of knowledge on the institutions. First of all, Europeans know only ‘very little’ about the functioning of the EU and its institutions. More than a third of them cannot name three of the European institutions. Against this background of lack of knowledge, however, it is noteworthy that the European Parliament is the institution most often mentioned by respondents. More than half of them named the European Parliament first, nearly a third the European Central Bank and a quarter the European Commission. To this can be added the fact that more than an absolute majority of Europeans believe that the European Parliament is the institution that ‘best represents the European Union’. For more than an absolute majority of respondents, voting in the European elections constitutes the best way to make one's voice heard by the decision-makers of the EU. A quarter of Europeans already know the date of the next European elections – June 2014. In this connection, a fundamental innovation made by the Lisbon Treaty was tested in the survey – the new way of electing the President of the European Commission. ,Would Europeans be more inclined to vote than they are today if the ‘major European political groupings put forward, on the basis of a common programme, one candidate each for the post of President of the European Commission’? ,It comes as a surprise that more than one in two respondents would indeed feel more inclined to vote in June 2014 if this were the case. It would give them a sense of being involved, if only indirectly, in electing the President of the European Commission.
At the mid-term 2009-2014, this new Parlemeter reviews the perception of Europeans on the European Parliament, policies and values they wish to see promoted and defended. ,The fieldwork was led by TNS opinion between 3 and 20 November 2011, in a particularly difficult European context: let us remember, amongst others, the failed referendum in Greece, the change of Prime minister in this country as well as in Italy, the increase in the interest rate of the sovereign debts in several countries of the Euro zone, the general elections in Spain, the G20 summit, etc. ,The main findings of this analysis are: ,Regarding the priority policies that Europeans want to see promoted by the European Parliament, tackling poverty and social exclusion remains the first concern (49%) Given the current crisis, it is the coordination of the economic, budgetary and fiscal policies that ranks second with a sharp increase of responses within the euro zone (37%) ,However, all policies that are not directly related to the current crisis have for some experienced a significant decline: combating climate change, the agricultural policy, combating terrorism, immigration policy. ,Concerning values, the number of responses in which each of them figures is decreasing. The protection of Human Rights comes in first position (56 %), followed by the gender equity man/woman (33 %) and of the freedom of expression (32 %). ,As for the role that respondents attributed to the European Parliament, it is important to note the large augmentation of those who want it to play a similar role. On the contrary, as for those who want the European Parliament to play either a more important or a less important role, they are decreasing. ,In this context of crisis, the image of the European Parliament does not evolve positively. Neither does the image of the other European institutions, the parliaments and the national governments. ,In what concerns the powers of the European Parliament, the election of MEPs and the allocated number of MEP's by Member state, a majority of respondents gave a positive answer.
2009 - Survey - The EP and the expectations of European citizens ,
The results of this survey on the elections should be considered in the context of the current international situation. In fact, the survey's fieldwork (January/February) coincides with highly-charged international events: the inauguration of Barack Obama, the launch of his first recovery plan, the situation in Gaza, etc. ,There are a number of important trends to note: ,Campaign issues: unemployment is by far the campaign issue which Europeans wish to see tackled as a priority during the European electoral debate. This result confirms the enormous concern of Europeans in the face of the present situation and that which is to come, especially as regards their personal situation. ,Level of awareness of the elections: the increase in awareness of the date is confirmed in comparison with the last two surveys. On the other hand, interest in the elections is not increasing and the likelihood of voting or not voting remains the same. The factors influencing the voter's choice in the election (candidates' experience both in the European and national domains, electoral program etc.) as well as the factors which cause them to abstain from voting are practically the same as those which were analysed in the EB/PE69 (Spring 2008). ,The role of the EP: opinion is polarising gradually as we get closer to the election. Practically half of Europeans want to see it play a more important role while one sixth states the contrary. The number of "don't know" answers is decreasing. ,Media recall of the EP: it is decreasing because of the international context as previously mentioned. ,The EP and the expectations of European citizens: ,The demand for greater protection of the consumer and of public health as well as a better coordination of economic, budgetary and fiscal policies are the issues citizens most want to see addressed as a priority by the EP. As unemployment is the priority campaign issue, it is absolutely clear that it is the areas associated with the daily and personal life of Europeans which are paramount. This leads to a demand for greater protection at EU level in the face of a crisis, the end of which no-one currently knows. In parallel, we note from these results that the international role of the EU is perceived as less important for European citizens. There is currently an increase in those who would like the Union to address, as a priority, their everyday problems. ,As regards values, the protection of human rights in the world is still in first place with a jump of 4 percentage points. The international context, marked by an intensification of certain conflicts and by increasing repression in many regions of the world, undoubtedly has a bearing on this. It is also presumably the reason why the defence of freedom of expression, evaluated for the first time, is found in 4th place (30%) of the values which the Parliament should defend as a priority.
2009 - Results of European Parliament elections ,
The dataset principally contains the results of the elections to the European Parliament held between 4 and 7 June 2009. ,You can find data on the composition of the European Parliament; the number of national parties in the European Parliament; voter turnout; results per Member State. ,For comparison, some data go back 35 years to the first direct elections to the European Parliament. ,You can visualise the results according to theme, using interactive charts. It is also possible to reuse HTML code to post the widget with the final results on your website.
Flash Eurobarometer 318: Attitudes towards the EU in the United Kingdom ,
The main themes in the current report relate to British citizens and their: • self-perceived knowledge of the EU, • need for information on the EU, • opinion about who should be responsible for keeping them informed about the EU,• image of the EU, • evaluation of the costs and benefits of EU membership, • thoughts on what problems should be tackled by the European institutions, • awareness of several benefits and projects related to the EU, • assessment of the importance of European issues at the last general election, • opinion on which party most closely represents their views on the EU.
The Parlemeter of the European Parliament (EB/EP 82.4) was conducted face-to-face by TNS opinion, in the 28 Member States, among 27.801 EU citizens. The fieldwork took place between 29 November and 9 December 2014. ,Main findings ,As was the case in the wake of the 2009 European elections, at the end of 2014 there was a significant ‘European elections effect’ in people’s media recall of the Parliament, and this was present in the minds of nearly six out of every ten Europeans (58%). ,This survey does nonetheless reveal that while people had heard about the European Parliament, they did not feel particularly informed about it. In fact, the vast majority of Europeans (67%) did not feel well informed about its activities. ,The image European citizens have of the European Parliament remains largely neutral (43%). This is the case in 21 Member States. ,European citizens’ knowledge of its structure and how it operates has improved since June 2013. ,When questioned on the elements of the European identity, respondents clearly placed values of democracy and freedom (47%) above all else, and this has increased in 22 Member States. The single currency (40%), which was ranked first a year ago, now takes second place but remains a strong factor of identity for all countries in the Eurozone. ,A longstanding question on the Eurobarometer, EU membership was perceived as a good thing by an absolute majority of Europeans (54%), including those not in the Eurozone. ,As for the pace of EU integration, increasing numbers of Europeans (49%) feel it is preferable to wait until all Member States are ready before continuing to develop new common policies. This position is most common in countries severely affected by the crisis. ,When asked, as in 2013, whether they felt their voice counted, 58% felt that their voice counted in their own country and 41% felt that their voice counted in the EU. ,A clear majority of responses (63%) in all Member States considered that the election of the President of the Commission, taking into account the results of the European elections, represented significant progress for democracy within the EU. ,Tackling poverty and social exclusion (54%) continues to grow in popularity and remains the number one priority policy for implementation by the European Parliament in 25 Member States. The issues of immigration (25%, +6) and combatting terrorism (29%, +4) showed the greatest increase in popularity, revealing new dividing lines between Member States. It was the same for security and defence policy (27%). ,For European citizens, protecting human rights (60%) is far and away the number one value to be defended by the European Parliament. This is followed by gender equality (36%) and freedom of expression (34%), which are also increasing. It is noteworthy that only one value is in decline at European level, and that is solidarity between EU Member States (30%). ,Finally, when asked what the situation would be like if their country were outside the EU, a majority felt that their country would do ‘worse’ without the EU in 11 of the 15 areas given. In four other areas, a majority felt that their country would do ‘neither better nor worse’ if it were outside the EU. People were, in contrast, highly divided between ‘better’ and ‘worse’ in the following three areas: inflation and the cost of living, immigration and agriculture.
2013 - Eurobarometer Survey - One year to go the European Election: Institutional Part ,
With one year to go until the 2014 European elections, this Eurobarometer survey of the European Parliament seeks to gauge Europeans’ opinion of the European project, the European Union and the possibilities offered by the European elections of 22-25 May 2014. ,This survey follows on from our Eurobarometer survey of June 2012 (‘Two years to go to the 2014 European elections’, EP/EB77.4). The fieldwork was carried out between 7 and 23 June 2013. ,The survey was conducted using face to face methods by TNS Opinion in the 28 EU Member States, with 27 624 respondents. The results are shown either for the EU28 (in the case of the new questions) or in the form of EU27 trends. ,In addition, in the current electoral context, it seemed useful to provide a detailed sociodemographic analysis (attached to the synthesis). Each question is presented in terms of age, gender, occupation and euro/non-euro results. These results are presented for each Member State.
2009 - Eurobarometer Survey - Europeans at one month from the elections ,
This pre-electoral survey was carried out by TNS Opinion within the framework of the contract with the European Parliament as part of the invitation to tender for the "Electoral evening". In comparison to traditional EB/EP surveys also carried out by TNS Opinion for the Eurobarometer, the methodology differs: respondents aged 15 years and above have more face to face interviews for the EB/EP; respondents aged 18 years and above are interviewed by telephone in most countries, and face to face in countries where telephone coverage is not adequate for the pre-electoral survey. Therefore, the comparative results should be analysed bearing in mind these differences in methodology. However they allow us to identify the trends over a year and a half of the survey. Due to legal restrictions, the results related to Italy and Luxembourg will not be published. ,What are the main lessons which can be revealed in this survey ? ,An awareness which seems to be growing: at the beginning of May, when the survey was carried out, we note a clear increase in the intention to vote compared to the EB/EP survey of January/February, but there is no guarantee that the turnout rate will be equivalent to that of 2004: 45.47%. ,Better awareness of the date: presently, almost half of Europeans cite June 2009 as the election date. ,Interest in the elections is also increasing: more than half of Europeans claim to be interested in the next European elections. ,Image of the EP: more than half of Europeans have a positive image of the Institution; this proportion is increasing since January-February 2009. ,Campaign themes: again, unemployment and economic growth are the main issues which Europeans wish to see prioritised during this campaign. On the other hand, inflation and purchasing power which was in 3rd place during the previous two surveys is now in 5th place.
Special Eurobarometer 299: The 2009 European elections ,
More than a year ahead of the June 2009 European elections, this second survey examines the expectations of Europeans in this regard. It attempts to ascertain the main issues and the themes which are likely to play a key role in the electoral campaign. The fieldwork for this Special Eurobarometer on the "2009 European elections" was carried out between 25 March and 4 May 2008 via face-to-face interviews (the questionnaire was read to respondents in their homes by an interviewer). 1. First of all, we shall assess the interest of European citizens in the European elections. 2. Then, the likelihood of voting in these elections. 3. Then, the voting criteria of Europeans for the 2009 elections. 4. Finally, the themes that Europeans want to see at the centre of the election campaign.
2015 - Survey - Desk research post-EE2014 ,
A few months after the 2014 European elections, the time has come to examine in depth the reasons for abstention and participation. ,In this light, the DG Communication of the European Parliament has commissioned a desk research to analyse the electoral behaviour of voters and abstainees. This was based on the 2014 post-election survey of 27,331 Europeans over the age of 18 (16 in Austria). The survey by TNS Opinion was carried out a few days after the vote, between 30 May and 27 June 2014. ,The aim of this research work is to identify the profiles of abstainees and voters, and to understand the reasons underlying their decision to vote or abstain, and to analyse their attitudes and opinions regarding the EU. ,In addition, it includes 2 national factsheets for each Member State, dedicated to voters and abstainees. For Belgium, Luxembourg (compulsory vote for both countries) and Malta (high level of turnout) the factsheet on the abstainees is not available due to the low number of abstainees.