Eurobarometer

In 2006, the European Commission selected the consortium led by the Gallup Organization to run its Flash Eurobarometer opinion polls. The Flash Eurobarometer surveys enable European policy-makers to hear the voices of the EU citizens in the 27 Member States. Gallup has worked with the Commission on over 100 Flash Eurobarometer surveys (with more than 1.5 million interviews) on subjects from the euro to consumer protection, and from higher education to energy policies.

Please access the Flash Eurobarometer reports here

Latest releases:

October 19, 2010: Europeans say lack of competition causes most problems in the energy sector

A Flash Eurobarometer survey, conducted in November 2009, assessed EU citizens' perceptions about competition policy (Flash 264). The results showed that they had a fair degree of awareness about competition policy. In a majority of EU Member States, at least half of respondents said they had heard or read about competition between companies via the media in the last year. In Germany and Finland, 80% of respondents had heard or read about the topic. The proportion of respondents who thought they were already sufficiently informed about each of the areas of competition policy, however, remained below 5% in almost all Member States. When they were asked in which sectors a lack of competition was causing the most problems for consumers, 44% of EU citizens, as well as the largest proportion of respondents in 25 of the 27 Member States, chose the energy sector (gas and electricity). In addition, a quarter of EU citizens mentioned the pharmaceutical product sector, 21% mentioned "telecommunications and Internet", 19% referred to transport services, and 18% named financial services as sectors suffering from a lack of competition. The survey also revealed that 74%-80%, of respondents, across all countries and across all sectors, felt that the main competition problem was that prices were too high.

October 19, 2010: Vast majority of Europeans think regions with high unemployment should have priority in regional policy

In the latest wave (June, 2010) of the Flash Eurobarometer survey on "Citizens' awareness and perceptions of EU regional policy" (Flash 298), roughly a third (34%) of EU citizens said they were aware of EU co-financed projects to improve their local area. Furthermore, three-quarters (76%) of respondents, who had heard about EU co-financed projects in their region, felt that the EU's support had had a positive impact on development in their city or region. The survey showed that a large majority of EU citizens accepted that the Union's regional policy served as a tool to reduce the economic and social disparities between the various regions in the EU: 88% said that it was rather a good thing that most regional funding was concentrated on the poorest regions in order to help them catch up with the rest of the EU. When asked specifically about where EU regional support should be targeted, 75% said that it should go to regions with high unemployment. As in the previous wave of this trend survey (February, 2008), EU citizens considered almost all policy areas listed in the survey to be among the more important ones for their city or region: more than 80% of respondents identified educational, health and social infrastructure, environmental issues, support for small businesses and employment training as important policy areas. While recognizing the importance of regional policy, respondents were rather divided regarding at which level decisions about EU regional policy projects should be taken. Roughly 3 in 10 (29%) EU citizens felt it should be at the regional level, and a similar proportion (28%) said that such decisions should be taken at a local level..

July 27, 2010: No deterioration in level of support for euro roll-out

The latest Flash Eurobarometer report (Flash 296) examined how citizens of those countries that joined the European Union in 2004 or later, but have not yet adopted the euro (i.e. Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria - known as the NMS8), felt about the common currency. Of these countries, Estonia will join the euro as of January 1^st, 2011. Although the survey was conducted at a time when the stability of the euro was being heavily debated, the current results only showed a slight deterioration in NMS8 citizens' support for the introduction of the euro in their countries. More than three-quarters of respondents said they would trust information relating to a changeover to the euro provided by their national central bank and 71% said the same about information from the European institutions. An overwhelming majority agreed with statements suggesting that travelling and shopping in the euro area would become easier when their country joined the common currency. Looking at the various economic and political effects of the euro's introduction, 61% of respondents agreed that an enlargement of the euro area would improve Europe's global position and 46% thought it would ensure sounder public finances. The only widespread fear among NMS8 citizens was the potential for abuses and cheating on prices during the changeover (74%). A majority of respondents (54%) said they were not worried about any personal inconveniences that would be caused by the changeover. A majority of citizens, however, did not feel well informed about the euro and would like to be informed as soon as possible or at least a... few years before the new currency was introduced. Estonia was the only country where equal shares of respondents felt either well informed or not well informed (49%-50%); the proportion of well informed Estonians has increased gradually from 30% in 2004 to 50% in 2010.

July 21, 2010: Vast majority of Europeans see drink-driving as the major road safety problem

A Eurobarometer survey on road safety (Flash report 301) has shown that drink-driving (i.e. people driving under the influence of alcohol ) is considered to be a major safety problem by 94% of EU citizens, followed by drivers exceeding speed limits (78%) and drivers/passengers not wearing seatbelts (74%). Although three-quarters of EU citizens thought that people driving while talking on a mobile phone without a hands-free kit constituted a major safety problem in their country, just a quarter said the same about people driving while talking on a hands-free mobile phone. When asked which measures national governments should take to improve road safety, just over half of EU citizens said that road infrastructure safety should be improved. Greater enforcement of traffic laws was the second most frequently selected measure that governments should concentrate on in order to enhance road safety: roughly 4 out of 10 respondents (42%) chose this measure. Dealing equally forcefully with resident and foreign traffic offenders was selected by 36% of EU citizens as a measure that should be prioritised. In Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania and Luxembourg, interviewees prioritised improving the enforcement of traffic laws over improving road infrastructure safety. Respondents in Austria, France and the Netherlands, on the other hand, gave more priority to measures to deal equally forcefully with resident and foreign traffic offenders.

June 23, 2010: One in five Europeans struggle to pay essential bills

The latest Flash Eurobarometer survey on the impact of the financial crisis in Europe, published halfway into the European Year against Poverty, showed that one in five EU citizens struggle to pay essential household bills and three-quarters feel that poverty has increased in their country in the past year. Furthermore, there has been a steep increase in the number of EU citizens expecting their household finances to get worse in the coming year: from 23% in March 2010 to 28% in the latest survey in May 2010 (+5 percentage points). In Romania and Greece, roughly 7 in 10 respondents expect that to happen: in Romania, the number has doubled in the March to May 2010 timeframe. Across the EU, 44% of respondents see at least a low risk that they will not be able to pay their everyday bills. Overall, the financial crisis has had the most impact in southern and eastern European countries. Citizens in the Nordic countries remain optimistic about both the present situation and future economic developments.

June 7, 2010: EU lags US and China in terms of impact of education on entrepreneurship

The latest Flash Eurobarometer report on entrepreneurship was conducted in the 27 EU member states and several other countries, including - for the first time - China. Focusing on that country, Chinese respondents were much more likely to say they would prefer to be self-employed rather than an employee (71% vs. 55% of Americans and 45% of EU citizens). American entrepreneurs, however, have a better image than those in the EU and China: 95% of American respondents saw entrepreneurs as job creators, vs. 87%-88% of Chinese and EU citizens. Other comparisons showed that over a third (37%) of Chinese respondents would expand a new business as quickly as possible (vs. 17% and 14%, respectively, for the EU and the US) and half of Chinese respondents who had started a business said this had been necessity-driven vs. 62% of Americans and 55% of EU citizens who said they had seen an opportunity. When the impact of school education on entrepreneurship was measured, the US and China were seen to be ahead of the EU in all aspects. Looking at the EU alone, two-thirds of its citizens who were not (yet) self-employed at the time of the survey felt that becoming self-employed in the next five years was unrealistic. When they were asked what they would fear most if they were starting up a business in today's economic climate, about half (49%) said it was the possibility of going bankrupt. Roughly 8 in 10 EU citizens agreed that it was difficult to start up a business due to a lack of available financial support. A large majority of respondents (71%) also agreed that business start-ups were difficult due to complex administrative procedures. Note that in China, interviews were conducted with randomly selected individuals (aged 15 and over) in 50 cities; this sample covered 115,000,000 of the 615,000,000 urban inhabitants - and accurately represented the total urban population.

May 31, 2010: Consumer rights campaign in Bulgaria well received

The latest wave of the Flash Eurobarometer report on consumer rights in Bulgaria showed that around 4 in 10 Bulgarians had seen or heard messages about the subject in the weeks prior to the survey. The overwhelming majority of those who remembered the campaign's messages said they had seen them on television (86%). Other information channels, like the Internet (12%), the radio, newspapers and magazines (all 7%) were mentioned far less frequently. The information campaign on consumer rights was well received; two-thirds of respondents who were familiar with the campaign felt that it was useful. A majority of interviewees agreed that the messages were easy to understand (78%), easy to remember (76%) and convincing (63%). The interest in a consumer rights magazine, however, has substantially decreased since September 2009 (by 13 percentage points), particularly among the older respondents (i.e. 36-45 year-olds as opposed to 21-35 year-olds). A large majority of Bulgarians remained negative about the level of consumer protection in their country compared to other EU Member States and of the efficiency of the country's legal system in the field of consumer protection.

May 7, 2010: European urban audit shows bleak picture concerning job opportunities

The latest Flash Eurobarometer study measured citizens' perceptions of life in 75 cities across the European Union, Croatia and Turkey. Of those cities, there were only six where more than half of the respondents agreed that it was easy to find a job. Furthermore, "job creation/reducing unemployment" appeared among the three main issues being faced by citizens in 64 of the 75 surveyed cities. Typically, the other issues that respondents focused on were "availability/quality of healthcare" and "educational facilities". On immigration, the presence of "foreigners" in the surveyed cities was generally seen as being positive; in 68 cities, a slim majority thought that their presence was beneficial. Fewer people, however, thought that "immigrants" were well integrated. Other perceptions reviewed included poverty, safety, pollution, public transport, administrative services and infrastructure/cultural facilities. 37,500 interviews were conducted for the survey. It covered all of the capital cities of the countries concerned, together with other metropolitan areas. For example, Brussels, Antwerp and Liege were included for Belgium. See Flash 277 for the full report.

A Flash Eurobarometer survey, conducted in August 2009, assessed European retailers' knowledge of legal obligations towards customers, their compliance with product safety legislation and their experience with customer complaints and disputes. The survey covered all EU member states together with Iceland and Norway. In all countries surveyed, more than two-thirds of retailers felt they were, at least, well informed about their legal obligations towards customers. Regarding enforcement, less than a sixth (16%) of retailers said consumer authorities had contacted them in the past two years in the framework of a general control concerning their national sales and 13% mentioned such contacts in the framework of a specific control. A slim majority of retailers received at least one consumer complaint in the 12 months preceding the survey. The survey showed that 70% of EU retailers were involved in "distance" selling of goods, i.e. they used the Internet, telephone, post and "doorstep" selling. Denmark, the UK and Ireland were the countries most likely to use at least one of these methods (87%-97%).

March 30, 2010: level of online cross-border shopping remains low in the EU

A Flash Eurobarometer survey, conducted in July 2009, assessed the extent of cross-border sales in the EU and consumer protection in general. Overall, EU consumers were more likely to make cross-border purchases face-to-face (holiday, shopping or business trip) rather than by "distance" means (online, mail order or telephone) - 24% and 9% respectively. The level of cross-border online shopping in the EU has remained relatively low: 8% of the EU's consumers bought goods or services online in the 12 months prior to the survey from a supplier in a different EU country (up one percentage point from 2008). As for consumer protection and complaints, the most frequent unfair commercial practice in the EU was the marketing of so-called "free" products; 54% of EU consumers came across such practices. The survey also showed a growing mistrust of the safety of non-food products: one in four (vs. 18% in 2008) considered that a significant number of products were unsafe.

March 24, 2010: fewer EU citizens feel that their household situation will deteriorate in the next 12 months.

The latest Flash Eurobarometer survey, conducted in December 2009, showed that the financial crisis continued to seriously impact EU citizens' lives: a fifth still had difficulties in keeping up with household bills and credit commitments. However, compared to the previous wave in July 2009, fewer citizens (a four percentage point decrease) now felt that their household situation would deteriorate in the next 12 months. Overall, the crisis has had had the most impact in some southern and eastern European countries, especially in Bulgaria, Hungary and the three Baltic states. In the Nordic countries; Danish, Finnish and Swedish citizens remained optimistic about both the present situation and future economic developments. This survey will be conducted on two more occasions in 2010 - in each wave, approximately 27,000 EU citizens have been/will be interviewed. Full details here.

March 11, 2010: EU citizens less likely to take a vacation outside of the EU in 2010

When asked about their 2010 holiday destination, roughly a third (32%) of EU citizens said they were planning to stay in their home country. Comparing 2009 and 2010 results showed that EU citizens were now less likely to be planning a holiday outside of the EU (15% vs. 20% in 2009). As to how many EU citizens would actually take a vacation in 2010, no clear picture emerged. At the time of the survey (February 2010), 28% of EU citizens were undecided about the type of vacation they wanted to take.

The proportion of EU citizens who were certain that they would not travel in 2010 (21%) was below the proportion of those who had not travelled in 2009 (33%). It remains to be seen what proportion of undecided citizens (28%) would eventually take a holiday. Turkish respondents were the most likely not to be planning a holiday in 2010 (44%), followed by respondents in Hungary (40%), Slovakia (36%), Italy and Malta (both 35%). The proportions of those undecided about vacation plans in 2010 were the highest in Italy and Portugal (both 35%). See Flash 291 for full report.

March 8, 2010: Influenza H1N1 ("swine flu") - European public aware and informed

An EU-wide survey in November 2009 showed that 86% of citizens were both aware of H1N1 flu and understood what it meant. Over half of citizens (57%) were not concerned that the H1N1 flu pandemic might develop into a serious risk in their countries. Furthermore, half of the public (50%) felt that the media paid too much attention to this flu pandemic. As for opinions about the seasonal vaccination that was available to protect people against flu, a majority of EU citizens did not believe that this would provide any protection against "swine flu" (60%). Only 1% of citizens had already been vaccinated specifically against H1N1 flu, and over half (54%) felt it was unlikely that they would be vaccinated in this way. Of these citizens, almost a third (31%) said this was because they felt the vaccination was unsafe. See Flash 287 for full report.

February 11, 2010: Slow increase in awareness of EU-wide emergency number

The single European emergency number 112 was introduced to enable citizens to call the emergency services (such as police, ambulance and fire brigade) by using one and the same number from anywhere in the European Union. The latest wave of this trend survey, January 2010, showed that although only 25% of EU citizens were aware that the '112' number existed for this purpose, this was a three percentage point increase from 2008. Furthermore, a majority of respondents disagreed that people in their country were sufficiently informed about the existence of the '112' number (62%, down by 4 points from 2008). The current survey, however, showed an increase in the proportion of EU citizens who called the EU-wide emergency number 112 during the most recent emergency situation in their own country: in 2010, 45% of them called 112 and 53% called a national emergency number. See Flash 285 for full details.

January 18, 2010: Slightly less support for the euro from the EU's new member states*

A Eurobarometer survey conducted in the final quarter of 2009 showed that support for the euro among citizens of the EU's new member states not yet in the euro area has slightly decreased since May 2009. Just under 4 in 10 (39%) said they would be unhappy if the euro was introduced - up three percentage points from May 2009. The results are now similar to those of 2008, indicating that the gradual improvement in support has stopped rather than been reversed. The Czech Republic and Poland, countries that saw particularly steep increases in support at the height of the financial crisis, have now seen support drop considerably (by 13 and 7 percentage points respectively).

In addition, compared to May 2009, more respondents were hesitant about an immediate changeover; there was a decrease of three percentage points in the number of citizens wanting the change to be "as soon as possible". About 6 in 10 citizens said they did not feel well informed about the euro (up two percentage points), while national central banks and the European Institutions remained the most trustworthy sources of information. The only widespread fear among citizens of the EU's new member states (not yet in the euro area) was the potential for abuses and cheating on prices during the changeover (73%, up one percentage point).

*The EU member states included in the survey were the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.

See Flash 280 for full details.

December 2, 2009: Lisbon Treaty ratification sets the scene for the first "EU President"

Now that the EU has appointed its first permanent President of the European Council, Belgium's (now-ex) Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, it is interesting to look back at a recent Flash Eurobarometer survey that showed three-quarters of Irish respondents agreeing that a 'yes' vote - in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty - would allow EU institutions to work more efficiently. Parts of the media have been calling the position 'President of the EU', but it is certain that the role will be mainly administrative with that very aim - i.e. to make the EU institutions (and Member States) work better together. The survey was taken after the referendum, the result of which was a major step towards its ratification. That, in turn, allowed the appointment of the first President of the European Council to go ahead. The Flash Eurobarometer report also showed one seemingly dramatic change in the Irish referendum voting since the previous rejection of the treaty: in 2009, 66% of women said they voted 'yes' in the referendum compared to only 44% in 2008. See Flash 284 for full details.

November 3, 2009: EU citizens feel the effects of the economic crisis

The financial crisis has had a serious impact on EU citizens' lives. Although a recent Eurobarometer poll revealed that this has primarily been seen in some southern and eastern European countries, the crisis has also made a deep impression in previously economically sound countries such as Ireland. Overall, about one-fifth of Europeans say their household is facing financial difficulties and a similar number say that, on occasion in the last 12 months, they have had no money to pay ordinary bills or buy food. A quarter of EU citizens expect the situation to get worse in the coming year, while just over half foresee no change and about one in six think things will improve. In the Nordic countries; Danish, Finnish and Swedish citizens appear to be optimistic about both the present situation and future economic developments. As for employment, while roughly three-quarters of respondents were very or fairly confident that they would not lose their job in the 12 months following the survey, only slightly more than 4 in 10 thought it would be very or fairly likely that they would be able to find a new job within six months if they were laid off. The confident respondents tended to be under the age of 40, well-educated and living in metropolitan areas. See Flash 276 for full details.

November 3, 2009: Space activities get a green light from Europeans

The majority of EU citizens regard European space activities as important from the perspective of the EU‟s future global role: one in five citizens considered such activities to be very important (20%) and a further 43% felt that space activities were important. When asked about the value of developing various space-based applications for Europe, EU respondents were most keen on (further) developing Earth observation systems to monitor our environment including natural phenomena like forest fires or floods, effects of climate change: 58% found this to be very important. Respondents also acknowledged that there may be various benefits related to space exploration and 26% of Europeans thought that the EU should definitely do more in the field of space exploration. However - in these times of economic and financial crisis - just 20% felt that more budgetary resources should be allocated to space activities; 23% felt that the EU should reduce such spending and 43% felt the current budget should be maintained. Those who thought that spending should be increased were more likely to be male (25%) and younger than 25 (27%). See Flash 272 for full details.

October 5, 2009: One in six EU companies expect less turnover in the next 2-3 years

During a recent poll, one in six company mangers in the EU said they expected their annual turnover to decrease in the next 2-3 years. About half of them predicted growth and just less than a third thought their company's annual turnover would remain the same. Of the 27 EU member states, Poland, Austria, Romania and Sweden showed the most optimism, while Hungary, Latvia and Ireland had the highest numbers of respondents who expected turnover to fall. As for talking to banks about finance, roughly 6 in 10 companies were confident that they would be able to obtain the desired results after such a meeting, while slightly more than a quarter admitted not feeling confident about the outcome. See Flash 271 for full details.

September 9, 2009: British still divided about the benefit of the "European project"

A recent Flash survey showed that roughly similar proportions of British citizens held positive and negative views (37% and 40% respectively) about both the EU's image and the economic benefits of the UK being a member of the Union. The negative opinions were generally associated with older respondents (over 54) and those with the lowest level of education. See Flash 274 for full details.

September 9, 2009: Young people again give priority to combating violence against children

In a study that looked at young European's knowledge and opinions about the rights of under 18 year-olds, violence against children was considered to be a priority problem by 45% of young EU citizens. Roughly 4 in 10 young people also indicated that sexual exploitation of children should be addressed nationally and one-third mentioned the problem of drugs. In general, a comparison, between 2008 and 2009 results, showed very few significant changes in overall attitudes. See Flash 273 for full details.

Flash Eurobarometer 230 - Ahead of the European elections, this survey assessed French citizens' attitudes towards the EU, their views on "European identity" and issues such as future enlargement. The survey showed that 80% of French citizens feel positive about the "European project" and 60% feel both French and European. See Flash 230 for details.

May 18, 2009: Views on EU enlargement

Flash Eurobarometer 257 - This survey assessed citizens' views on the impact of the integration of 10 Central and East European countries (CEE) on the 27 member states. The most widely accepted benefit is the freedom to move and travel (90% of citizens agreed). Over half of the EU respondents, however, consider that enlargement has made the enlarged EU more difficult to manage (66%) and contributed to job losses in their country (56%). See Flash 257 for full details.

May 4, 2009: Confidence in the Information Society

Flash Eurobarometer 250 - In Flash 250, around 12,800 home-Internet users across the EU were asked about their confidence in the Information Society. One finding showed that only 12% of respondents feel that transactions over the Internet are completely safe. See Flash 250 for full details.

April 29, 2009: Students and higher education reform

Flash Eurobarometers 260 - In Flash 260, 15,000 students were interviewed in 31 countries. In the survey, two-thirds of them thought that higher education should be free of charge while 9 in 10 students gave strong support to programmes that focus on the skills needed in today's workplace. See Flash 260.

April 29, 2009: Intergenerational solidarity

Flash Eurobarometer 269 - Flash 269 looked primarily at relations between the younger and older generations. To highlight just one finding, many EU citizens were in agreement that national governments should make more money available for pensions (at least 8 in 10 in 18 Member States). See Flash 269 for full details.

April 23, 2009: The euro's introduction in Slovakia

Flash Eurobarometer 259 - This Flash survey captures the Slovak residents' immediate reactions after the introduction of the euro on January 1, 2009. See Report for details.

March 24, 2009:

Flash Eurobarometer 253 - Tobacco

Flash Eurobarometer 255 - The Euro in Slovakia

Flash Eurobarometer 258 - Attitudes of Europeans towards Tourism

Flash Eurobarometer 261 - Water

Flash Eurobarometer 266 - Women and the European elections

January 21, 2009: Parents' views on the mental health of children and young people

Flash Eurobarometer 246 - The survey examined parents' perceptions of their child's quality of life. Results showed, for example, that more girls were getting on very well at school (33% vs. 27% of boys") and that 42% of parents thought their child was "full of energy". See Report for details.

January 21, 2009: Awareness of key 'Freedom, Security & Justice' policies

Flash Eurobarometer 252 - The survey looked at the levels of citizens' concerns and support for the Directorate General for Justice, Freedom and Security's key policy areas: e.g. immigration, the fight against drugs abuse, the control of the EU's external borders, etc. See Report for details.