Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021 Public opinion in the European Union
First results Fieldwork: February-March 2021
This document does not represent the point of view of the European Commission. The interpretations and opinions contained in it are solely those of the authors.
Project title Standard Eurobarometer 94- Winter 2020 – 2021
Public opinion in the European Union, First results
Language version EN
Catalogue number NA-AO-21-001-EN-N
ISBN 978-92-76-35884-8
ISSN 1977-3927
10.2775/822120
© European Union, 2021 https://www.europa.eu/eurobarometer
Photo credit: Getty Images
Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 4
I. EUROPEANS AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 8 1. Trust in national governments and parliaments and in the European Union: trend 9 2. Trust in the European Union: national results and evolutions 10 3. The image of the European Union: trend 11 4. The image of the European Union: evolutions and national results 12
II. THE ECONOMIC SITUATION 13 1. Current situation of the economy at national level: trend, national results and evolution 14 2. Support for the Euro: trend and national results 17
III. THE MAIN CONCERNS OF EUROPEANS 19 1. Main concerns at European level: trend 20 2. Main concerns at European level: national results 21 3. Main concerns at national level: trend 23 4. Main concerns at national level: national results 24
IV. THE EU AND THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 26 1. Satisfaction with the measures to fight the crisis: trend and national results 27 2. Trust in the EU to make the right decisions in the future: trend and national results 29 3. EU priorities in its response to the coronavirus pandemic 30 4. Economic consequences: national results 33 5. The EU recovery plan ‘Next generation EU’: national results 34 6. Personal experience of the coronavirus pandemic: trend and national results 35
V. ATTITUDES TOWARDS VACCINATION AGAINST COVID-19 36 1. Interest in getting vaccinated against Covid-19: national results 37 2. Attitudes to Covid-19 vaccines: EU results 38 3. Information on Covid-19 vaccines: EU results 39
CONCLUSION 40
INTRODUCTION
Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
far, and on 11 March 2021, at the end of the fieldwork, 43.1 Million This report presents the first results of the Standard doses had been administered in the EU. Eurobarometer survey of winter 2020-2021 (EB94), which was carried out between 12 February and 11 March 2021 in the 27 EU On 17 March 2021, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal Member States. The survey was also conducted in 12 other establishing a common framework for a digital green certificate5 countries or territories: five candidate countries (Albania, covering vaccination, testing and recovery. This certificate aims to Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey), the Turkish facilitate free movement within the EU, in full respect of the Cypriot Community in the part of the country that is not controlled principle of non-discrimination and the fundamental rights of EU by the government of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as in Bosnia citizens. and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo1, Norway, Switzerland and in the United Kingdom. The economy
This First results report is published together with the results of The coronavirus pandemic is having a major impact on the the Standard Eurobarometer questions, which are set out in an European economy. However, while the various indicators annex. It focuses on the results obtained in the 27 EU Member collapsed during the first half of 2020, due to the containment States. measures taken in most EU countries, they tended to recover sharply in the third quarter and then to fall again in the fourth Coronavirus pandemic quarter, after the restrictions put in place to counter the second wave of the epidemic. The period between the previous Standard Eurobarometer (EB93, summer 2020) and the fieldwork of the current Standard In the end, growth fell very sharply in 2020, but less than the very Eurobarometer survey of winter 2020-2021, conducted in pessimistic forecasts of the summer of 2020 had feared: -6.8% in February-March 2021 was marked by the prolongation and the euro area, and -6.3% in the EU. The forecasts published by the deepening of the coronavirus global pandemic: the “second wave” European Commission in its Winter 2021 European Economic 2 of the pandemic started in autumn 2020 , after a relative Forecast6 predict an increase of +3.7% in EU27, and by +3.8% in improvement of the sanitary situation in summer 2020. At the the euro area for 2021. beginning of 2021, the appearance of the different variants of the virus – “British”, “South African” and “Brazilian” in particular, their The unemployment rate also fluctuated during the course of 2020: greater contagiousness, and their presumed stronger resistance to after rising sharply in the first half of 2020, it finally fell again in antibodies3 plunged several European countries into a “third wave”, the second half of the year, to stand at 7.3% in the EU as a whole with the implementation of a series of restriction measures. in January 20217 (stable from December 2020, and up from 6.6% in January 2020). Unemployment in the euro area was 8.1% in On 24 March, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and January 2021 (also stable from December 2020, and up from Control (ECDC) reported more than 24.1 million cases in the 7.4% in January 2020). European Union, with the highest caseloads in France (4,071,662), Italy (3,223,142) and Spain (3,195,062). Worldwide infections EU-related events since the summer 2020 survey: were over 120.2 million and continued to rise.4 At that date, there On 16 September 2020, the President of the European have also been more than 577,300 deaths in the European Union Commission Ursula von der Leyen delivered her first State of and more than 2.6 million deaths worldwide. the Union speech8 where she outlined her vision for the EU and the priorities for the year ahead. She also announced plans to Vaccination campaign reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions, to ensure a successful digital transformation of Europe by 20309 and presented The vaccine campaign, which started at the end of 2020 in the measures to step up action against racism and a new approach European Union, has recently gained momentum. Following the to migration. European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) positive assessment of their On 14 October, the European Commission presented a series safety and efficacy, the European Commission has so far given of new policies on energy policy to help build a climate neutral four conditional marketing authorisations for the vaccines Europe10, including actions on renovation of buildings and a developed by BioNTech and Pfizer (the first one, on 21 December strategy to reduce emissions of methane. The Commission also 2020), Moderna, AstraZeneca and most recently Janssen announces a new Chemicals Strategy11, the first step towards Pharmaceutica NV (on 11 March 2021). Overall, the European a zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment. Union has secured up to 2.6 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines so On 27 October, as part of the EU’s efforts to preserve jobs and livelihoods affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the
1 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line 4 https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of 5 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_1181 independence. 6 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/economy-finance/ip144_en_1.pdf 2 Also known as Covid-19 or Sars-CoV-2 7 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/portlet_file_entry/2995521/3- 3 However, there are indications that vaccines are effective against these 04032021-AP-EN.pdf/cb6e5dd6-56c2-2196-16b7-baf811b84a4f three variants circulating in the European Union: 8 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_20_1655 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20210311STO 9 “Europe’s Digital decade” 99733/covid-19-variants-state-of-play-and-impact-on-vaccination-in- 10 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/mex_20_1901 the-eu 11 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_1839
5 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
European Commission distributed €17 billion to Italy, Spain decided to impose restrictive measures on four Russian and Poland under the Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks individuals responsible for serious human rights violations and in an Emergency (SURE) programme. SURE can provide up to involved in Navalny’s arbitrary arrest. €100 billion in financial support to all Member States. Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: on 27 September 2020, On 11 November, the European Commission took the first fighting broke out between Azerbaijani forces and those of steps towards building a European Health Union with proposals Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave with an Armenian majority that to strengthen the EU's health security framework and to has been disputed for decades. After six weeks of fighting (and reinforce the crisis preparedness and response role of key EU more than 5,000 dead), a ceasefire was signed in November agencies. which consecrated Azerbaijan's victory. : on 1 February 2021, a coup was Elections in the EU since the summer 2020 survey: Myanmar (Burma) perpetrated by military forces which proclaimed a year-long state of emergency and declared the transfer of power to the The period was marked by major elections in Lithuania, Romania, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services. and Portugal. On 1 October 2020, Alexander De Croo was sworn as the new Terrorist attacks: Belgian Prime minister following negotiations initiated after On 4 October 2020, in Dresden, Germany, one person was the 26 May 2019 general elections. killed with a knife in an Islamist attack. In Lithuania, the Homeland Party, Christian Democrats (TS- On 16 October, in Conflans-Saint-Honorine, France, a history LKD), led by Ingrida Simonyte came first, winning 50 of the teacher, Samuel Paty, was beheaded by a radicalised Islamist 141 seats of the Seimas during the parliamentary elections after showing cartoons of Mohammed during a lesson on held in October 2020. freedom of expression. Parliamentary elections took place in Romania on 6 December On 29 October, three worshippers in the Basilica of Nice (south- 2020, where the Social Democratic Party (PSD) won 29.7% of east France) were killed with a knife by a Tunisian who had the votes, ahead the National Liberal Party (PNL), led by recently arrived in Europe. outgoing Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, which won 25.2%. On 2 November, four people were killed in an Islamist attack In Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was re-elected on 24 in Vienna, the first such attack in Austria. January President of the Republic, in the first round of voting, with 60.7% of the votes.
Other elections took place just after the end of fieldwork: In Germany, regional elections in the west of the country (Baden-Württemberg and Rheinland-Pfalz) on 14 March were marked by a serious setback of the Chancellor Merkel’s CDU party. In the Netherlands, the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte came first with 34 seats in the general elections (15-17 March).
Other noteworthy events since the summer 2020 survey: In the USA, following the presidential election held in November 2020, the Biden presidency began on January 20, 2021, when Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. The inauguration took place after the Capitol had been invaded on January 6th by demonstrators, causing five deaths, during the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Joe Biden's victory. Impact of climate change: In August and September 2020, San Francisco and other parts of the American West were stricken by massive fires. In November, hurricanes devastated Central America, killing more than 200 people while gigantic fires destroyed 40% of the forests on Fraser Island (Australia, Queensland). According to provisional data from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), 2020 will be the second hottest year on record, after 2016. On 20 August 2020, Russia's leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny was hospitalised after falling seriously ill, before being allowed to undergo emergency treatment in Germany. He went back to Russia in February 2021 and was immediately sent to jail. On 2 March, the Council of the EU
6 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
Methodology used for this survey * Cyprus as a whole is one of the 27 European Union Member States. However, the ‘acquis communautaire’ has been suspended Exceptionally, this Standard Eurobarometer survey 94 was in the part of the country which is not controlled by the government conducted during winter 2020-2021 of the Republic of Cyprus. For practical reasons, only the interviews (February-March 2021) instead of autumn because of the carried out in the part of the country controlled by the government coronavirus pandemic and in some countries, alternative of the Republic of Cyprus are included in the ‘CY’ category and in interview modes to face-to-face were necessary as a result of the EU27 average. the situation.
When possible, the methodology used was that of the Standard Eurobarometer surveys carried out by the Directorate-General for We wish to thank the people throughout the European Communication (“Media monitoring and Eurobarometer” Unit)12. Union who have given their time to take part in this However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was difficult, survey. and sometimes impossible to conduct face to face interviews in a Without their active participation, this study would not number of countries of the European Union. In these countries, we have been possible. have interviewed respondents online, mostly after recruiting them in a probabilistic way by telephone. A technical note concerning the interviews conducted by the member institutes of the Kantar network is annexed to this report. It also specifies the confidence intervals13.
Following the EU General Data Protection Regulation14 (GDPR), respondents were asked whether or not they would agree to be asked questions on issues that could be considered “sensitive”.
Note: In this report, EU countries are referred to by their official abbreviation. The abbreviations used in this report correspond to:
Belgium BE Lithuania LT Bulgaria BG Luxembourg LU Czechia CZ Hungary HU Denmark DK Malta MT Germany DE The Netherlands NL Estonia EE Austria AT Ireland IE Poland PL Greece EL Portugal PT Spain ES Romania RO France FR Slovenia SI Croatia HR Slovakia SK Italy IT Finland FI Republic of CY * Sweden SE Cyprus Latvia LV
European Union – weighted average for the 27 EU27 Member States BE, FR, IT, LU, DE, AT, ES, PT, IE, NL, FI, EL, EE, Euro SI, CY, MT, SK, LV, LT area Non BG, CZ, DK, HR, HU, PL, RO, SE euro area
12 https://www.europa.eu/eurobarometer 14 2016/679 13 The results tables are annexed. It should be noted that the total of the percentages indicated in the tables in this report may exceed 100% when the respondent was able to choose several answers to the same question.
7
I. EUROPEANS AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
8 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
1. Trust in national governments and consequence, at +13, the percentage point gap between trust in the European Union and trust in the national government is the parliaments and in the European highest measured since autumn 2010, when it stood at +15. Union: trend Distrust of the European Union has decreased (43% “tend not to trust”, -5 percentage points since summer 2020), while distrust of Close to half of Europeans trust the European Union (49%), national governments (60%, +4) and national parliaments (60%, after a steep 6-point increase since the Standard +2) has increased. Eurobarometer of summer 2020, EB93. It’s the highest level registered since spring 2008. At the same time, trust in national governments (36%, -4 percentage points since summer 2020, but +2 since autumn 2019) and national parliaments (35%, -1 since summer 2020, +1 since autumn 2019) have lost ground, though both remain at a higher level than in autumn 2019. As a
QA6b How much trust do you have in certain institutions? For each of the following institutions, do you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it? (% - EU - TEND TO TRUST)
70%
60% 57
50 50 49 50% 48 48 47 47 48 45 THE EUROPEAN UNION 44 43 43 44 43 43 42 41 42 41 42 42 45 40 40% 38 38 40 35 37 36 37 36 THE (NATIONALITY) 35 35 33 34 34 34 36 34 35 34 34 41 32 33 33 32 33 30 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 32 35 30 36 35 35 36 35 THE (NATIONALITY) PARLIAMENT 30% 34 34 34 27 28 28 28 28 28 34 34 34 31 31 32 32 32 26 25 31 31 30 29 29 29 28 28 27 27 27 27 25 20% 24 23
10%
0%
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 (2021)
9 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
2. Trust in the European Union: (both 58%), Belgium (56%), Luxembourg and Slovenia (both 55%), Bulgaria (53%), Spain (52%), Croatia (51%), and Poland and national results and evolutions Slovakia (both 50%). In Germany, a relative majority tend to trust the EU (48% vs 44% “tend not to trust”), and in Finland, public In 20 Member States, a majority of respondents say they trust the opinion is evenly divided (50% “tend to trust” vs 50% “tend not to EU (up from 15 in summer 2020), with the highest levels observed trust”). in Portugal (78%), Ireland (74%) and Lithuania (70%). More than six respondents in ten trust the EU in Malta and Estonia (both 64%), At the other end of the scale, distrust is the majority view in Greece Denmark (62%), and the Netherlands and Latvia (both 61%), and (63%), Austria (53%), Czechia and Cyprus (both 52%), France (49% at least half of them do so in Hungary (59%), Romania and Sweden vs 39% “tend to trust”) and Italy (46% vs 44%).
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At national level, trust in the EU has increased in 23 EU QA6b.10 How much trust do you have in certain institutions? For each of the Member States since the Standard Eurobarometer of following institutions, do you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it? summer 2020 (EB93), most spectacularly in Portugal (78%, +22 The European Union (%) percentage points), Malta (64%, +19), Italy (44%, +16), Belgium (56%, +13), Czechia (48%, +13), the Netherlands (61%, +12), Lithuania (70%, +11) and Spain (52%, +10). Conversely, trust has declined in three countries: Poland (50%, -6), Austria (41%, -3) Sum.2020 Sum.2020
and Denmark (62%, -1), and has remained unchanged in Germany, Don't know Tend to trust Tend not to trust at 48%. - Win.2020/2021 - Win.2020/2021
As a result of these changes, the majority in Belgium, Luxembourg, EU27 49 6 43 5 8 Slovenia, Spain, and Slovakia now tend to trust the EU. EURO AREA 48 8 44 7 8 NON-EURO AREA 54 2 38 = 8 PT 78 22 21 13 1 MT 64 19 23 13 13 3. The image of the European Union: IT 44 16 46 15 10 trend BE 56 13 44 10 0 CZ 48 13 52 4 0 NL 61 12 35 10 4 At 46%, the positive image of the EU has reached its LT 70 11 30 9 0 highest level since autumn 2009, after a 6-percentage point ES 52 10 38 10 10 increase since summer 2020. This is the largest increase on this FR 39 9 49 8 12 indicator since spring 2007. The neutral image of the EU has lost SE 58 8 41 6 1 some ground (38%, -2), while at 15% (-4), the negative image has SI 55 8 45 3 0 reached its lowest level since autumn 2009. LV 61 7 39 7 0 EE 64 6 36 6 0 HU 59 6 36 4 5 LU 55 6 45 6 0 BG 53 5 29 3 18 SK 50 5 44 2 6 EL 37 5 63 3 0 RO 58 4 35 3 7 HR 51 2 44 = 5 CY 39 2 52 2 9 IE 74 1 26 = 0 FI 50 1 50 1 0 DE 48 = 44 = 8 DK 62 1 38 7 0 AT 41 3 53 3 6 PL 50 6 38 6 12
D78 In general, does the EU conjure up for you a very positive, fairly positive, neutral, fairly negative or very negative image? (% - EU)
70%
60%
52 50 49 50% 48 48 46 45 45 45 46 43 TOTAL 'POSITIVE' 42 41 41 42 40 40 39 39 39 39 39 40 40 40 40 40% 38 38 38 38 36 36 37 NEUTRAL 34 34 35 35 40 32 38 38 31 38 38 31 31 30 30 31 37 37 37 37 37 36 37 37 30% 35 34 35
28 29 29 28 26 27 20% 25 25 22 23 20 20 21 21 21 20 20 19 19 19 TOTAL 'NEGATIVE' 17 17 16 17 10% 15 15 14 15 15 15 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0% DON'T KNOW
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 (2021)
11 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
4. The image of the European Union: D78 In general, does the EU conjure up for you a very positive, fairly positive, neutral, fairly negative or very negative image? evolutions and national results (%)
In 25 EU Member States a majority of respondents have a positive image of the EU (up from 13 in the Standard Eurobarometer of summer 2020 (EB93)), with the highest
proportions observed in Portugal (76%) and Ireland (75%), and at Neutral Sum.2020 Sum.2020 Sum.2020 Don't know Total 'Positive' least half of the population sharing this view in Bulgaria (59%), Total 'Negative' Win.2020/2021 - Win.2020/2021 - Win.2020/2021 - Win.2020/2021 Lithuania (57%), Estonia (55%), Luxembourg and Slovenia (both
54%), Latvia and Poland (both 53%), and Malta and the EU27 46 6 38 2 15 4 1 Netherlands (both 50%). MT 50 25 42 14 6 4 2 PT 76 21 21 14 3 6 0 Since summer 2020, the proportion of respondents with a positive CZ 49 19 28 13 23 6 0 image of the EU has increased in 24 Member States, in particular NL 50 14 36 7 14 7 0 in Malta (50%, +25 percentage points), Portugal (76%, +21), LU 54 13 32 = 14 13 0 Czechia (49%, +19), the Netherlands (50%, +14), Luxembourg SI 54 12 40 8 6 4 0 (54%, +13), Slovenia (54%, +12), Italy (43%, +12), Latvia (53%, IT 43 12 38 1 18 11 1 LV 53 10 34 14 13 5 0 +10) and Spain (45%, +10). The proportion of respondents with a ES 45 10 45 3 8 7 2 positive image of the EU has decreased in Romania (47%, -4), EE 55 9 34 3 11 6 0 Poland (53%, -2) and Hungary (48%, -1). CY 44 8 38 5 18 3 0 FR 41 8 38 5 20 4 1 In three Member States (down from 13 in summer 2020), the EU SK 43 7 41 1 15 7 1 conjures up a predominantly neutral image for respondents: EL 34 7 42 1 24 8 0 Greece (42%), Austria (39%), and Spain, where respondents are BG 59 6 25 2 14 6 2 LT 57 6 35 8 8 3 0 equally likely to be positive or neutral (both 45%). SE 46 5 35 3 18 3 1 FI 40 5 37 3 23 2 0 There are only five countries where more than a fifth of IE 75 4 19 1 6 3 0 respondents have a negative image of the EU: Austria (25%), DE 49 2 37 = 13 3 1 Greece (24%), and Belgium, Czechia and Finland (all 23%). DK 47 2 34 6 19 5 0 BE 39 2 38 1 23 3 0 HR 48 1 41 1 11 2 0 AT 35 1 39 3 25 4 1 HU 48 1 42 3 10 2 0 PL 53 2 39 2 8 = 0 RO 47 4 46 9 7 4 0
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II. THE ECONOMIC SITUATION
13 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
1. Current situation of the continued to deteriorate: 29% of EU citizens now think that their national economic situation is “good” (-5 percentage economy at national level: trend, points since summer 2020), the lowest level for this indicator national results and evolution since spring 2013. Symmetrically, the proportion of Europeans who consider this situation to be “bad” has also gained ground (+5), and After the very large drop registered in summer 2020 (-13 more than two-thirds now share this view (69%). At 2%, the percentage points between autumn 2019 and summer 2020), proportion who say they “don’t know” has remained unchanged. perceptions of the situation of the national economy have
QA1a.2 How would you judge the current situation in each of the following? The situation of the (NATIONALITY) economy (% - EU)
90%
78 77 80% 75 71 71 72 72 69 70 69 70% 68 68 64 TOTAL 'BAD' 62 63 63 59 60% 56 57 57 56 49 50 52 51 50 50 49 49 49 49 50% 48 48 47 46 47 47 40% 44 48 47 41 40 41 38 39 36 30% 34 34 34 34 TOTAL 'GOOD' 31 29 30 29 28 28 27 27 20% 26 23 22 20 10% 4 4 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 DON'T KNOW 0%
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 (2021)
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Perceptions of the current situation of the national economy varies economic situation in a positive light in Luxembourg (86%), widely between EU Member States, ranging from 86% in Sweden (81%), Denmark (71%) and the Netherlands (70%), while Luxembourg, down to 7% in Italy. Positive perceptions are now in no more than one in ten do so in Italy (7%), Spain (8%), and the majority in eight EU Member States (down from 10 in summer Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria (all 10%). 2020). More than two-thirds of the population see their national
15 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
Compared with the Standard Eurobarometer of summer 2020 QA1a.2 How would you judge the current situation in each of the following? (EB93), positive perceptions of the current situation of the national The situation of the (NATIONALITY) economy (%) economy have lost ground in 23 countries, with double-digit decreases in Poland (34%, -19 percentage points), Cyprus (23%, - 17), Austria (23%, -13), Hungary (36%, -12) and Denmark (71%, - 11). They have improved in four countries, in particular in Belgium (50%, +10) and Sweden (81%, +7). Sum.2020 Sum.2020 Total 'Bad' Don't know Total 'Good'
As a result of these changes, the positive perception has now - Win.2020/2021 - Win.2020/2021 become the minority view in Poland.
EU27 29 5 69 5 2 EURO AREA 28 3 71 4 1 NON-EURO AREA 36 10 61 10 3 BE 50 10 50 9 0 SE 81 7 18 7 1 LU 86 3 14 2 0 EL 10 1 90 1 0 MT 59 1 35 2 6 FI 52 2 48 2 0 RO 26 2 70 = 4 FR 17 2 79 3 4 HR 13 2 87 3 0 BG 10 2 82 = 8 PT 10 2 90 3 0 DE 52 3 46 3 2 ES 8 3 91 3 1 IT 7 3 93 4 0 SI 42 5 58 7 0 EE 60 6 40 6 0 LT 50 6 50 9 0 IE 42 6 58 6 0 SK 17 6 82 8 1 LV 20 8 80 12 0 NL 70 9 30 10 0 CZ 30 9 70 11 0 DK 71 11 29 17 0 HU 36 12 63 14 1 AT 23 13 77 14 0 CY 23 17 76 16 1 PL 34 19 63 22 3
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2. Support for the Euro: trend now on the rise again, after a 4-point increase. In parallel, the proportion of respondents who are opposed to the euro continues and national results to decrease (15%, -2).
Support for a European economic and monetary union with Overall in the European Union, seven in ten Europeans are one single currency, the euro has reached new highs: 79% for the euro (70%, +3 percentage points since summer 2020, of citizens in the euro area are for the euro, the highest point +15 since spring 2016), the highest level ever recorded. since 2004. While support increased almost continuously between Conversely, less than a quarter of Europeans are “against” a spring 2016 and autumn 2019 (from 68% up to 76%), it had lost European economic and monetary union with one single currency, 1-percentage point between autumn 2019 and summer 2020. It is the euro (23%, -2), the lowest level of opposition since 2004.
QB3.1 What is your opinion on each of the following statements? Please tell for each statement, whether you are for it or against it. A European economic and monetary union with one single currency, the euro (% - EU)
90%
79 80% 75 76 76 75 FOR (EURO AREA) 73 74 74 70 70 69 70 69 69 70 70 70% 68 68 67 67 68 67 67 68 68 67 FOR 66 65 65 66 66 64 63 63 63 63 61 62 61 61 62 62 62 59 60 60 60 61 61 60 60 59 58 57 58 60% 56 56 55 56 56 55 53 53 52 51 52 50% 42 40 40 40 41 37 37 37 38 40% 35 35 36 36 36 36 34 34 33 33 33 33 34 33 31 31 31 32 32 32 30 29 30% 25 30 30 31 31 23 28 29 28 29 28 27 27 27 26 27 26 26 26 26 26 AGAINST 20% 25 25 24 25 25 25 22 21 20 20 18 18 AGAINST (EURO AREA) 8 8 9 8 17 10% 6 6 7 7 6 6 7 7 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 7 6 15 DON'T KNOW/ REFUSAL 9 8 8 7 0%
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 (2021)
17 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
A majority of respondents are in favour of “a European (55%) and Croatia (48% vs 45% “against”). In five countries, all economic and monetary union with one single currency, the located outside the euro area, a majority of respondents say they euro” in 22 EU Member States (unchanged since summer are against the euro: Sweden (73%), Denmark (68%), Czechia 2020). The highest proportions of support are seen in Portugal (60%), Poland (56%), and Bulgaria, where opinion is almost evenly (95%), Slovenia (94%), Ireland (91%), and Luxembourg and divided (41% vs 40% “for”). Belgium (both 90%). Between eight and nine respondents in ten also support the euro in Estonia and Latvia (both 89%), Spain and Since summer 2020, support for the euro has increased in Slovakia (both 86%), the Netherlands (85%), Lithuania (84%), 20 Member States, most strikingly in Czechia (40%, +19 Germany (82%) and Greece (81%). At least seven in ten do so in percentage points), Portugal (95%, +13), Italy (72%, +12) and Cyprus (79%), Malta and Finland (both 76%), Italy (72%), and Lithuania (84%, +10). It has decreased in three countries, by no France and Austria (both 70%). Support is also predominant in more than 2-percentage points, and remains unchanged in four. three countries outside the euro area: Hungary (63%), Romania
18
III. THE MAIN CONCERNS OF EUROPEANS
19 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
1. Main concerns at European The environment and climate change is now in fourth place (20%, unchanged), while immigration, at 18% after a 5-point level: trend decrease, has fallen out of the leading trio of concerns for the first time since autumn 2014. Unemployment is in sixth position, with Close to four EU citizens in ten consider health as the most 15% of mentions (-2 percentage points). important issue facing the EU at the moment: this item is now mentioned by 38% of respondents, after a steep increase of 16 Seven items are then cited by less than one respondent in ten: percentage points since summer 2020 when this item was rising prices/ inflation/ cost of living (9%, -1), the EU’s introduced in the question. It has taken first place ahead of the influence in the world (9%, -1), terrorism (6%, -1), crime (5%, economic situation (35%, unchanged), while the state of -1), pensions (3%, -1), energy supply (3%, unchanged) and Member States’ public finances has slid into third position, with taxation (3%, unchanged). 21% of mentions (-2).
20 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
2. Main concerns at European level: national results
Health leads the ranking of main concerns at EU level, but the economic situation is the only issue that appears in the top three concerns in all EU Member States
Health, mentioned by 38% of respondents in the EU overall, is considered to be the most important issue facing the EU in 16 Member States (up from 3 in the Standard Eurobarometer of summer 2020), with the highest proportions in Italy (60%), Czechia (50%) and Slovenia (47%). It is in equal first place in France, along with the economic situation (both 33%). It is the second most important concern in five countries, in particular Latvia (40%) and Ireland (39%), and the third one in three.
The economic situation is in second position at EU level, with 35% of mentions, and it is the most mentioned issue in six countries, with the highest proportions in Portugal (50%) and Latvia (46%). In the Netherlands, it is in equal first place with the environment and climate change (both 38%). This issue ranks second in 19 countries, led by Italy (46%) and Slovenia (43%), while in Luxembourg, it shares second place with the environment and climate change (both 35%). The economic situation comes in third place in Belgium (35%) and Malta (31%).
In third place at the overall EU level is the state of Member States' public finances (21%). This is the first answer given in Finland (45%), and the second most mentioned issue in Portugal (33%). It ranks third in seven countries, with the highest proportion in Greece (35%).
The environment and climate change is mentioned by 20% of Europeans and ranks first among respondents in Sweden (55%), Denmark (43%), the Netherlands (38%), Belgium (37%) and Germany (31%). It is the second most mentioned issue in Luxembourg (35%) and France (24%), and in third place in Ireland (34%), Finland (29%) and Lithuania (23%).
In fifth place at EU level with 18% of mentions, immigration is the first answer given in Cyprus (44%), the second in Malta (34%), and the third in eight countries, led by Czechia (32%) and Hungary (30%).
Unemployment, mentioned by 15% of EU citizens overall in sixth position, is the third most given answer in Spain (32%), Italy (25%) and Austria (22%).
Other issues (rising prices/inflation/cost of living, the EU’s influence in the world, terrorism, crime, pensions, energy supply and taxation) are mentioned by less than 10% of respondents at EU level, and rising prices/inflation/cost of living is the only one of these that makes the top three in any Member State, in third position in Romania (18%).
21 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
QA5 What do you think are the two most important issues facing the EU at the moment? (MAX. 2 ANSWERS) (%) Crime Health Taxation Pensions Terrorism Immigration Energy supply Unemployment Economic situation EU's influence in the worldEU's in the influence Rising prices/ inflation/ cost of living of cost inflation/ prices/ Rising The environment and climate change climate and environment The The state of Member States' public finances
EU27 38 35 21 20 18 15 9 9 6 5 3 3 3 BE 36 35 25 37 19 5 8 14 4 5 2 6 2 BG 43 31 11 9 28 11 11 8 11 4 3 4 2 CZ 50 35 24 17 32 3 7 13 8 2 1 2 1 DK 28 40 19 43 25 8 2 11 9 3 0 2 1 DE 26 30 27 31 21 10 8 14 4 5 3 4 2 EE 46 37 24 20 22 9 6 17 5 2 1 7 2 IE 39 40 28 34 11 15 8 11 2 2 1 3 3 EL 42 39 35 8 24 15 5 12 5 5 1 1 2 ES 42 36 15 8 17 32 7 4 3 2 5 2 3 FR 33 33 15 24 18 14 10 8 13 11 3 3 1 HR 40 31 20 11 17 18 11 9 14 10 3 3 2 IT 60 46 20 7 10 25 5 2 2 3 4 2 5 CY 30 35 12 6 44 24 4 2 12 16 3 0 1 LV 40 46 16 15 18 15 9 17 6 3 2 2 4 LT 36 37 13 23 15 17 14 17 10 3 1 3 4 LU 39 35 23 35 15 18 6 10 6 4 2 3 2 HU 32 31 24 15 30 10 10 11 13 5 3 4 2 MT 46 31 17 17 34 9 9 5 3 8 2 2 2 NL 33 38 26 38 27 5 4 14 3 2 0 4 2 AT 40 37 18 17 13 22 15 11 5 6 5 3 3 PL 41 29 20 15 15 9 18 9 7 6 5 4 6 PT 31 50 33 23 13 20 8 8 4 2 1 1 3 RO 39 27 16 12 13 8 18 8 7 9 5 5 4 SI 47 43 21 20 26 8 5 11 7 5 1 3 2 SK 44 34 23 16 21 7 14 11 8 6 2 1 1 FI 20 33 45 29 20 6 7 19 8 5 0 3 1 SE 20 25 16 55 23 13 3 11 8 11 1 10 1 1st MOST FREQUENTLY 2nd MOST FREQUENTLY 3rd MOST FREQUENTLY MENTIONED ITEM MENTIONED ITEM MENTIONED ITEM
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prices/inflation/cost of living has lost two percentage points since summer 2020, while the environment and climate 3. Main concerns at national change (13%, -1), government debt (13%, -1) and the level: trend education system (13%, +4) share fifth place.
Health is now perceived as the most important national issue Less than one in ten, but more than one in twenty EU citizens then (44%), after a 13-percentage point increase since summer 2020. mentioned pensions (7%, -3 percentage points), immigration The economic situation is in second place, mentioned by a third (7%, -4), crime (6%, -2), and housing (6%, +1). Finally, and of Europeans (33%, unchanged), while a quarter cite unchanged since summer 2020, taxation (5%), terrorism (3%) unemployment (25%, -3). and energy supply (2%) are only marginal concerns.
In fourth place, with 16% of mentions, rising
23 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
4. Main concerns at national level: national results
In all 27 EU Member States, health is seen by respondents as one of the top three main issues facing their country.
Health is the highest ranked national concern, with 44% of mentions. It is the most mentioned issue in 20 countries (up from 10 in summer 2020), with the highest proportions in Estonia (62%), Italy (61%) and Slovakia (59%). In Belgium, it shares first place with the economic situation (both 33%). It the second most given answer in Greece (42%), Sweden (35%) and Luxembourg (31%), and the third one in four Member States.
The economic situation, in second place, is mentioned by 33% of Europeans. It is the most mentioned answer in six EU countries, led by Greece (59%), Cyprus (54%) and Portugal (52%). It ranks second in eight countries, with the highest proportions in Italy (47%) and Latvia (42%). In Bulgaria, it shares second place with rising prices/inflation/cost of living (both 33%). It is the third most given answer in ten EU Member States, in particular in Spain (40%). In Malta, it shares third place with rising prices/inflation/cost of living (both 24%).
At an overall EU level, unemployment ranks third with 25% of mentions. It is the second most mentioned item in seven countries, in particular in Spain (51%), and stands in third place in four countries.
Rising prices/inflation/cost of living is in fourth position at EU level, mentioned by 16% of respondents. This concern ranks second in four countries, with the highest proportions in Poland (40%) and Hungary (37%), and is in third place in four Member States.
In equal fifth place, the environment and climate change, government debt and the education system are all mentioned by 13% of EU citizens. The environment and climate change is the most mentioned issue in Sweden (36%). It is in second place in Malta (28%) and Germany (27%) and in third in Denmark (36%), the Netherlands (35%) and Belgium (21%). Government debt is the second most mentioned issue in Czechia (37%), Finland (34%) and Belgium (27%), and the third most mentioned issue in Slovenia (25%). The education system is in third place in Latvia, with 24% of mentions.
All other items – pensions, immigration, crime, housing, taxation, terrorism and energy supply, are mentioned by less than 10% overall. Of these, crime is the third most mentioned issue in Sweden, with 30% of mentions, while housing comes first, by far, in Luxembourg (51%) and second in Ireland (35%). None of the other concerns rank in the top three in any Member State.
24 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
QA3a What do you think are the two most important issues facing (OUR COUNTRY) at the moment? (MAX. 2 ANSWERS) (%) Crime Health Housing Taxation Pensions Terrorism Immigration Energy supply Unemployment Government debt Economic situation The education system Rising prices/ inflation/ cost of living of cost inflation/ prices/ Rising The environment and climate change climate and environment The
EU27 44 33 25 16 13 13 13 7 7 6 6 5 3 2 BE 33 33 12 13 21 27 10 9 9 5 5 10 1 8 BG 47 33 30 33 4 4 10 11 5 6 1 2 1 2 CZ 52 35 5 19 5 37 22 7 2 1 7 1 0 0 DK 47 37 13 5 36 17 9 3 11 4 3 4 3 2 DE 31 23 12 14 27 18 22 7 10 4 12 3 3 3 EE 62 38 26 17 10 7 14 7 5 1 1 4 0 7 IE 54 25 19 17 14 15 8 2 2 4 35 2 0 1 EL 42 59 37 8 1 13 9 4 11 4 0 7 1 0 ES 53 40 51 6 3 6 5 6 6 4 2 4 0 1 FR 40 24 31 13 17 11 12 7 9 14 4 3 9 1 HR 31 38 37 22 3 16 3 11 3 20 3 4 1 1 IT 61 47 34 6 3 9 7 6 6 2 2 7 3 1 CY 29 54 44 8 3 3 13 4 16 10 3 3 1 0 LV 49 42 22 16 2 10 24 6 1 2 2 22 0 0 LT 40 24 32 31 4 14 20 9 3 2 1 14 1 2 LU 31 17 14 25 18 7 10 5 5 6 51 5 1 2 HU 50 30 20 37 6 9 7 10 7 3 4 3 1 2 MT 50 24 8 24 28 1 4 4 22 10 7 1 0 3 NL 54 37 7 8 35 5 14 3 6 3 18 4 1 2 AT 43 31 36 17 12 14 10 5 9 6 4 3 3 3 PL 44 29 10 40 8 13 10 10 4 5 4 8 3 4 PT 32 52 40 17 4 14 7 5 0 3 4 16 0 0 RO 43 28 12 31 6 8 15 15 3 6 5 5 2 4 SI 51 40 20 8 6 25 9 7 8 8 7 5 0 1 SK 59 39 17 30 7 6 15 7 4 3 3 3 0 0 FI 31 36 28 9 22 34 8 4 10 3 2 8 0 2 SE 35 11 17 5 36 1 19 7 17 30 8 3 2 9 1st MOST FREQUENTLY 2nd MOST FREQUENTLY 3rd MOST FREQUENTLY MENTIONED ITEM MENTIONED ITEM MENTIONED ITEM
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IV. THE EU AND THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
26 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
1. Satisfaction with the measures to fight the crisis: trend and national results
Close to half of Europeans are not satisfied with the measures taken to fight the coronavirus pandemic by the European Union (49%, +5 percentage points since summer 2020), while 43% are satisfied (-2), and 8% answer that they don’t know (-3). As a result of these evolutions, the majority opinion has switched since summer 2020.
A clear majority of Europeans are not satisfied with the measures taken by their national government to fight the coronavirus pandemic: 56% are “not satisfied” (+19 percentage points since summer 2020), while 43% (-19) are satisfied. Just 1% answer that they don’t know. Satisfaction has deteriorated spectacularly since summer 2020, when the situation was the opposite, with 62% “satisfied” vs. 37% “not satisfied”.
Satisfaction with the measures taken by the European There are 13 EU Member States where a majority of Union to fight the coronavirus pandemic has dropped in 14 respondents are satisfied with the measures taken by the countries since summer 2020, in particular in Germany (33%, - European Union to fight the pandemic (down from 19 16 percentage points), Ireland (56%, -15), Estonia (42%, -13), Member States in summer 2020), with the highest proportions Slovakia (39%, -13), Greece (31%, -10), Cyprus (49%, -10) and seen in Denmark (68%), Lithuania (67%) and Portugal (66%). In Finland (45%, -10). It has increased in 12 countries, most strikingly 12 countries, majorities of respondents are “not satisfied”, led by in Denmark (68%, +11), Italy (46%; +10), Malta (55%, +9), Greece (68%), Luxembourg (63%) and Belgium (61%). In Spain Lithuania (67%, +8), Portugal (66%, +8), Sweden (55%, +8) and (44% “satisfied”, vs 44% not satisfied) and the Netherlands (43% Spain (44%, +8) and remains unchanged in Luxembourg. vs 43%), public opinion is evenly divided.
27 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
Satisfaction with the measures taken by the national government Since summer 2020, satisfaction has deteriorated in all EU varies sharply between the different EU Member States, ranging Member States. Most evolutions show massive decreases, from 79% in Denmark to 21% in Latvia. Overall, a majority of particularly in Latvia (21%, -56 percentage points), Czechia (24%, respondents are satisfied with the measures taken by their -47), Estonia (45%, -40), Malta (53%, -39), Slovakia (25%, -38), government in 11 Member States (down from 24 in summer Greece (39%, -36), Cyprus (53%, -34), Slovenia (31%, -33) and 2020). Public opinion is now evenly divided in Spain (44% satisfied Austria (47%, -30). vs. 44% not satisfied). In 15 countries, majorities of respondents are “not satisfied”, with at least three-quarters sharing this view in Latvia (79%), Czechia (76%) and Slovakia (75%).
28 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
2. Trust in the EU to make the right decisions in the future: trend and national results
When thinking about EU’s response to the pandemic, close QA12 Thinking about EU's response to the coronavirus pandemic, to what extent do you trust or to six in ten Europeans trust the EU to make the right not the EU to make the right decisions in the future? (% - EU) decisions in the future (59%, -3 percentage points since summer 2020). Less than four in ten do not trust the EU in this Don't know Totally trust Do not trust at all 2 (=) 5 (-2) regard (39%, +3), and 2% say they don’t know (unchanged). 9 (+2)
At least half of the population trust the EU to take the right decisions in the future in 24 countries, and more than three- quarters do so in Portugal (89%), Malta (79%) and Hungary (77%). Tend not to trust At the other end of the scale, majorities do not trust the EU to take 30 (+1) Tend to trust 54 (-1) the right decisions in the future in Greece (55%), Czechia (53%) and Austria (50%).
Compared with summer 2020, trust in the EU to take the right decisions in the future has lost ground in 17 countries, in particular (Winter 2020/2021 - Summer 2020) in Germany (50%, -15), Ireland (70%, -11), Belgium (55%, -11), Latvia (61%, -10) and Slovakia (56%, -10). It has increased in seven, most strikingly in Malta (79%, +21), Portugal (89%, +13) and Italy (60%; +10), and remains unchanged in three: Bulgaria (62%), Cyprus (65%) and the Netherlands (68%).
29 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
3. EU priorities in its response Less than one in five consider that the EU, in its response to the coronavirus pandemic, should first enforce stricter control of to the coronavirus pandemic the external borders of the EU (18%), and 15% think that it should ensure the management and coordination of a Ensuring rapid access to safe and effective vaccines to all stockpile of strategic medical equipment common to the EU EU citizens should be the first priority of the European Member States. Almost as many think the EU should encourage Union in its response to the pandemic: this item is mentioned the relocation of industries back to the EU from abroad and by 36% of respondents, way ahead of the other dimensions. encourage coordination and solidarity both between the EU Member States and with our neighbours (both 14%). This is followed by a group of priorities all mentioned by around a quarter of Europeans: establish a European strategy for Finally, one in ten think the EU should coordinate possible facing a similar crisis in the future (28%), develop a restrictions to the free movement of people between EU European health policy (27%), invest more money to develop Member States (10%). treatments and vaccines (25%), support global response to coronavirus to ensure universal access to a vaccine or treatment (24%), invest more money in the economy for a sustainable and fair recovery in all the EU Member States and enable the EU Member States to support businesses and workers affected by the pandemic (both 23%).
30 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
Ensuring rapid access to safe and effective vaccines to all Enforce a stricter control of the external borders of the EU is in EU citizens, in first place at EU level with 36% of mentions, is the second place in Finland (32%), and in third position in three first given answer in 19 Member States, led by Finland (61%) and countries. Czechia (60%). In Bulgaria, it shares first place with two other items: investing more money in the economy for a sustainable and Other items are mentioned by 15% or less at EU level, and ensure fair recovery in all EU Member States, and enabling the EU Member the management and coordination of a stockpile of States to support businesses and workers affected by the strategic medical equipment common to the EU Member pandemic (all 30%). In France, this item comes first jointly with States is the only one of these items to make the top three in any “Establishing a European strategy for facing a similar crisis in the Member State, in third position in the Netherlands (27%). future” (both 30%). It comes in second position in four countries, including Romania where it is joint second with “Investing more money to develop treatments and vaccines” (both 24%). It is the third most given answer in Sweden (40%) and Greece (33%).
Establishing a strategy for facing a similar crisis in the future ranks first in Luxembourg (43%) and France (30%). It ranks second in eight countries, with the highest proportions in Sweden (44%) and Denmark (42%). It shares second place with “Developing a European health policy” in Bulgaria (both 29%), and with “Supporting a global response to coronavirus to ensure universal access to a vaccine or treatment” in Ireland (both 33%). It is the third most important priority in three countries (in Malta, joint third with “Investing more money to develop treatments and vaccines”).
In third place at EU level with 27% of answers, developing a European health policy is in first position in Cyprus (42%) and Romania (29%). It is the second most mentioned priority in five Member States (including France, where it is joint second with “Investing more money to develop treatments and vaccines”), and the third priority in five countries.
Invest more money to develop treatments and vaccines is in fourth place at EU level, mentioned by 25% of Europeans overall. It is the first answer given in Spain and Croatia (both 37%). It ranks second in three countries, and third in four (including Cyprus, where it shares third place with “Investing more money in the economy for a sustainable and fair recovery in all the EU Member States”).
Support global response to coronavirus to ensure universal access to a vaccine or treatment is cited by 24% of Europeans, in fifth place. It is the first answer given in Sweden (48%), the second one in two countries and the third answer given in three.
Two items are in equal sixth place at EU level with 23% of mentions: Invest more money in the economy for a sustainable and fair recovery in all the EU Member States and Enable the EU Member States to support businesses and workers affected by the pandemic. Invest more money in the economy for a sustainable and fair recovery in all the EU Member States ranks first in four countries, with the highest proportion in Portugal (45%). It is the second answer given in three countries, and the third one in five, including Ireland where it shares third place with “Enabling the EU Member States to support businesses and workers affected by the pandemic”. In Greece (50%) and Bulgaria (30%), Enabling the EU Member States to support businesses and workers affected by the pandemic is in first place. It ranks second in four countries, and third in another four.
31 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
QA11 And what should the European Union now prioritise in its response to the coronavirus pandemic? (MAX. 3 ANSWERS) (%) treatments and vaccines a similar crisis in the future the similar in crisis a Enforce a stricter control of back the to EU from abroad the external borders of the EU Invest more money develop to Ensure rapid access safe to and Develop a European health policy common the to EU Member States effective vaccines all to EU citizens and workers affected by the pandemic Encourage the relocation of industries Establish a European strategy for facing universal access a to vaccine or treatment Ensure the management and coordination Coordinate possible restrictions the to free of a stockpile of strategic medical equipment and fair recovery in all the EU Member States the EU Member States and with our neighbours movement of people between EU Member States Support Global Response coronavirus to ensure to Enable the EU Member States support to businesses Invest more money in the economy for a sustainable Encourage coordination and solidarity both between
EU27 36 28 27 25 24 23 23 18 15 14 14 10 EURO AREA 37 29 28 26 23 23 23 19 15 15 13 9 NON-EURO AREA 34 26 23 23 28 24 24 13 15 12 14 11 BE 43 37 29 12 16 26 22 16 16 24 16 15 BG 30 29 29 24 12 30 30 20 15 12 12 9 CZ 60 32 15 23 25 21 22 16 17 16 15 7 DK 45 42 10 22 41 17 17 25 14 11 14 12 DE 40 39 28 22 21 17 16 18 16 18 13 8 EE 44 32 17 17 23 33 30 21 20 16 11 13 IE 53 33 18 16 33 27 27 22 12 7 15 14 EL 33 21 29 26 15 43 50 23 15 4 12 9 ES 32 19 26 37 23 29 25 16 11 9 12 8 FR 30 30 27 27 21 14 20 26 13 24 15 7 HR 28 22 33 37 21 28 29 11 12 11 13 10 IT 34 22 33 32 28 25 23 14 15 10 13 11 CY 31 26 42 34 10 34 37 21 15 5 10 10 LV 40 21 29 11 15 40 33 23 15 10 14 14 LT 36 24 28 19 19 19 29 24 16 11 15 15 LU 39 43 27 13 18 19 23 15 15 24 21 17 HU 34 23 31 21 25 28 30 15 17 11 10 10 MT 40 28 25 28 21 31 27 18 12 8 13 10 NL 46 39 25 19 22 22 22 13 27 10 17 11 AT 34 20 20 20 21 34 28 26 16 21 14 13 PL 31 21 23 23 28 27 26 10 13 10 13 12 PT 41 34 31 12 28 45 38 11 9 7 13 4 RO 24 21 29 24 23 20 20 12 16 12 14 12 SI 38 28 33 12 19 31 29 20 15 18 15 14 SK 42 22 22 31 21 20 22 25 16 9 10 19 FI 61 30 9 16 19 22 19 32 16 11 14 16 SE 40 44 10 15 48 18 21 15 18 11 22 7 1st MOST FREQUENTLY MENTIONED ITEM 2nd MOST FREQUENTLY MENTIONED ITEM 3rd MOST FREQUENTLY MENTIONED ITEM
32 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
4. Economic consequences: A national analysis of results reveals that in all EU Member States, “in 2023 or later” is the most given answer, ranging national results from 82% in Portugal to 44% in Romania. At least 30% of the population think that their country’s economy will recover in 2022 More than six Europeans in ten think that their country’s in Malta (32%), Sweden (31%) and the Netherlands and Italy (both economy will recover from the impact of the coronavirus 30%), and more than one in ten are even more optimistic and pandemic in 2023 or later (61%). Less than a quarter think believe it will do so in 2021 in Romania and Hungary (both 11%). that recovery will come in 2022 (23%), and just 5% think that it will be later this year, in 2021. Close to one in ten fear that their Conversely, 10% of the respondents or more think that their country’s economy will never recover from the impact of the country’s economy will never recover from the impact of the pandemic (8%), whereas a very marginal share of Europeans say pandemic in Latvia (17%), Croatia and Poland (both 16%), Slovakia that it has already recovered (1%). Finally, 2% answer that they (14%), Bulgaria and Romania (both 12%), France and Slovenia don’t know. (both 11%), Austria, Czechia, Greece and Hungary (all 10%).
33 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
5. The EU recovery plan ‘Next generation EU’: national results
A majority of Europeans continue to think that the EU 750 billion QA15 The European Union has designed a recovery plan of 750 billion euros, euro recovery plan, NextGenerationEU, will be effective in NextGenerationEU, to support the economy through grants and loans. How effective or 15 not do you think that this measure is to respond to the economic effects of the responding to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic Coronavirus pandemic? (55%). Close to four in ten think it will not be effective Don't know Very effective (38%), and 7% say that they don’t know. 7 7 Not at all effective A majority of respondents in 24 EU countries think that 7 NextGenerationEU will be effective, with the highest proportions in Malta (83%) and Ireland (77%). Conversely, majorities think that it will not be effective in Finland (57% “not Fairly effective Not very effective effective” vs 42% “effective”) and Latvia (52% vs 47%), while 48 respondents in Portugal are evenly divided (50% vs 50%). 31
15 This question was also raised in the Special Eurobarometer 500 on the Future of Europe: https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2256
34 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
6. Personal experience of the coronavirus pandemic: trend and
national results
Since summer 2020, the way Europeans have coped with the different restrictive measures taken to fight the pandemic has deteriorated: a majority of EU citizens now consider that it was a difficult experience to cope with (40%, +8 percentage points since summer 2020), while less than three in ten say it was “easy to cope with” (29%, -9). The proportion who say that it was “both easy and difficult to cope with” has remained almost unchanged, at 31% (+1).
In more detail, 29% answered that coping with these measures was “fairly difficult” (+4 percentage points), while 11% even say that it was “very difficult to cope with, and even endangering [their] mental and physical health conditions” (+4). Among those who rank their experience positively, 4%, say it was “very easy to cope with, and even an improvement to [their] daily life” (-3), while 25% said it was “fairly easy to cope with” (-6).
A majority of respondents consider that confinement and difficult to cope with” (38%) and “very easy” or “fairly easy to measures were a difficult experience to cope with in 17 cope with” (38% when aggregated). In Ireland, “both easy and countries, most strikingly in Italy (63%, including 15% who say it difficult to cope with” and “fairly difficult” or “very difficult to cope was “very difficult to cope with, and even endangering your mental with” (aggregated) were mentioned by the same proportion of and physical health conditions”), Greece (60%, 24%), Portugal respondents (41%). (54%, 21%) and Cyprus (50%, 14%). At least one respondent in ten say it was “very difficult to cope with, and even endangering Since summer 2020, the proportion of those who perceive your mental and physical health conditions” in Greece (24%), their experience of confinement measures as difficult has Portugal (21%) and Slovenia (20%). increased in all countries but one, most strikingly in Ireland (41%, +24 percentage points), Slovakia (49%, +10), Spain (42%, Conversely, a majority consider that it was very or fairly +13), Italy (63%, +13), Cyprus (50%, +12), Slovenia (42%, +12), easy to cope with this experience in ten countries (down from Lithuania (29%, +11), France (40%, +10) and Austria (43%, +10). 16 in summer 2020), with the highest proportions in Finland (66%, Portugal is the only exception: the answers corresponding to including 16% of answers “very easy to cope with, and even an “difficult” have lost ground (54%, -8), but so has “easy” (10%, -9), improvement to your daily life”) and the Netherlands (60%/8%) while the proportion of respondents for whom these measures and Estonia (55%/9%). In Czechia, similar equal proportions of were “both easy and difficult to cope with” has increased respondents found that confinement measures were “both easy spectacularly (36%, +17).
35
V. ATTITUDES TOWARDS VACCINATION AGAINST COVID-19
36 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
1. Interest in getting vaccinated In 21 countries, a majority of respondents would like to get vaccinated as soon as possible or have already been against Covid-19: national results vaccinated, led by Ireland (74%), Denmark (73%) and Sweden (71%). At the other end of the scale, there are six countries More than four Europeans in ten would like to get where a majority of respondents answered they would like vaccinated as a soon as possible - or have already been to get vaccinated “later”: Cyprus (40%), Romania (36%), 16 vaccinated at the time of fieldwork - if a vaccine against Bulgaria (32%), Hungary (31%), Croatia (30%) and Poland (29%). COVID-19 was authorised by public authorities and available for them (45%), and 20% would like to do so some time in 2021. 21% would prefer to get vaccinated later, and 12% say that they would never get vaccinated, and 2% that they “don’t know”.
16 This item (“I have already been vaccinated”) was introduced on field on 19 February 2021. At that time, 8,278 interviews had already been conducted in the whole EU27 area.
37 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
2. Attitudes to Covid-19 vaccines: EU vaccines are being developed, tested and authorised too quickly to be safe (52% vs 42%). And overall, while a majority results agree that they do not understand why people are reluctant to get vaccinated (56%), a strong proportion of Europeans Asked about several statements on vaccines, seven Europeans disagree (41%). in ten agree that a vaccine is the only way to end the pandemic (70%, including 35% who “totally agree”, vs 25% who Finally, more than two-thirds of Europeans agree that the disagree). European Union is playing a key role in ensuring that they can have access to COVID-19 vaccines in their country That said, a similar proportion also agree that COVID-19 (69%, including 25% who “totally agree”). Less than a quarter vaccines could have long term side-effects that we do not disagree (24%). know yet (67% vs 24%), and more than half say that COVID-19
38 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
3. Information on Covid-19 vaccines: A group of five sources is mentioned by less than a fifth of Europeans: people around you (colleagues, friends and EU results family) (19%), the national government (17%), media (television, radio, newspapers) (16%), the regional or local When asked which sources they trust more to give them public authorities (14%) and the European Union (13%). reliable information on COVID-19 vaccines, two items stand Finally, websites (9%) and online social networks (5%) are out: more than two-thirds of Europeans mention health seen as reliable sources of information about COVID-19 vaccines professionals, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists (67%), and by less than a tenth of the population. close to half cite their national health authorities (47%).
39
CONCLUSION
40 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
If Covid-19 vaccines were available for them, more than This Standard Eurobarometer survey reveals that, in the specific four Europeans in ten would get vaccinated as soon as context of the coronavirus pandemic, the EU is seen in a more possible, and further 20% would do so later in 2021. More than a positive light than at any time in the last ten years or more. fifth answer “later”, and more than one in ten respondents say they While close to half of Europeans trust the EU, the highest level will “never” get vaccinated. since 2008 when the financial and economic crisis began, the EU’s has also reached its highest level since autumn positive image Seven Europeans in ten agree that a vaccine is the only way to 2009, at 46%. In line with these new highs, support for a end the pandemic, but a similar proportion also consider that European economic and monetary union with one single COVID-19 vaccines could have long term side-effects that currency, the euro, has also reached its highest level ever we do not know yet, while more than half say that COVID-19 . registered, in both the euro area and the EU as a whole vaccines are being developed, tested and authorised too quickly to be safe. More than two-thirds of Europeans agree However, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is massive that the on perceptions of the national economy, which have continued to plummet: less than three Europeans in ten now think it is “good”, while more than two-thirds say it is “bad”.
More than a year after the start of the pandemic, health is now seen as the most important issue facing the EU, mentioned by close to four Europeans in ten, after a significant rise since summer 2020. The economic situation comes close behind, mentioned by more than a third, while just over a fifth of respondents cite the state of Member States’ public finances, in third place. Health is also perceived as the first issue at the national level, with 44% of mentions, far above the economic situation, mentioned by a third of respondents, and unemployment, cited by one in four Europeans.
Despite the positive assessments on trust and image of the EU, more than half of Europeans are not satisfied with the measures taken to fight the coronavirus by the European Union, and their national government. Since summer 2020, satisfaction has dropped spectacularly for measures taken by the national government, but by only 2-percentage points for the measures taken by the EU. However, thinking about the EU’s response to the pandemic, more than half of Europeans continue to trust the EU to make the right decisions in the future, despite a slight decrease since summer 2020.
Ensuring rapid access to safe and effective vaccines to all EU citizens, mentioned by more than one in three Europeans, is seen as the first priority for the EU in its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
More than six Europeans in ten believe that the EU will recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in 2023 or later, and close to a quarter think that it will do so in 2022. Close to one in ten are very pessimistic: they think that the EU will never recover from the impact of the pandemic.
More than half of Europeans think that NextGenerationEU, the EU 750 billion euro recovery plan, will be effective.
The way Europeans have experienced the confinement measures has deteriorated since summer 2020: a majority of four Europeans in ten now think it was a difficult experience; just above three in ten think that it was both easy and difficult to cope with, and less than three in ten think that it was easy.
41 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
Technical Specifications areal sampling point (1km2 grid) were selected from the address or population register. The selection of addresses was done in a random manner. Households were then contacted by telephone Between the 12th February and the 11th March 2021 (18th March and recruited to take part in the survey. 2021 for countries and territories outside the EU), Kantar on behalf of Kantar Belgium carried out the wave 94.3 of the Eurobarometer survey, on request of the European Commission, Directorate- General for Communication, “Media monitoring and Eurobarometer” Unit.
The wave 94.3 includes the Standard Eurobarometer 94 survey and covers the population of the nationalities of the European Union Member States, resident in each of the 27 Member States and aged 15 years and over.
The Standard Eurobarometer 94 survey has also been conducted in 12 other countries or territories: five candidate countries (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey), the Turkish Cypriot Community in the part of the country that is not controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo17, Norway, Switzerland and in the United Kingdom.
In these countries and territories, the survey covers the national population of citizens and the population of citizens of all the European Union Member States that are residents in these countries and territories and have a sufficient command of the national languages to answer the questionnaire.
The basic sample design applied in all countries and territories is a multi-stage, random (probability) one. In each country, a number of sampling points was drawn with probability proportional to population size (for a total coverage of the country) and to population density.
In order to do so, the sampling points were drawn systematically from each of the "administrative regional units", after stratification by individual unit and type of area. They thus represent the whole territory of the countries surveyed according to the EUROSTAT NUTS II (or equivalent) and according to the distribution of the resident population of the respective nationalities in terms of metropolitan, urban and rural areas.
In each of the selected sampling points, a starting address was drawn, at random. Further addresses (every Nth address) were selected by standard "random route" procedures, from the initial address. In each household, the respondent was drawn, at random (following the "closest birthday rule"). If no one answered the interviewer in a household, or if the respondent selected was not available (not present or busy), the interviewer revisited the same household up to three additional times (four contact attempts in total). Interviewers never indicate that the survey is conducted on behalf of the European Commission beforehand; they may give this information once the survey is completed, upon request.
The recruitment phase was slightly different in the Netherlands and Sweden. In these countries, a sample of addresses within each
17 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
TS1 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
N° FIELDWORK POPULATION PROPORTION COUNTRIES INSTITUTES INT E R VIE W S DATES 15+ E U27 BE B elgium Kantar Belgium 1 060 17/02/2021 05/03/2021 9 188 369 2,45% BG B ulgaria Kantar TNS BBSS 1 032 12/02/2021 03/03/2021 5 995 194 1,60% CZ C zec hia Kantar C Z 1 100 17/02/2021 22/02/2021 8 956 740 2,39% DK Denmark Kantar Gallup 1 010 19/02/2021 11/03/2021 4 848 611 1,29% DE Germany Kantar Deutschland 1 575 12/02/2021 10/03/2021 71 728 398 19,10% EE E s tonia Kantar E mor 1 054 17/02/2021 09/03/2021 1 073 224 0,29% IE Ireland Kantar Belgium 1 094 17/02/2021 03/03/2021 3 896 482 1,04%
EL Greece Kantar Greece 1 058 12/02/2021 10/03/2021 9 187 524 2,45%
TNS Investigación de Mercados y ES S pain 1 007 12/02/2021 09/03/2021 40 006 943 10,65% O pinión FR France Kantar P ublic France 1 020 12/02/2021 04/03/2021 52 732 499 14,04% HR C roatia Hendal 1 028 15/02/2021 07/03/2021 3 488 460 0,93% IT Italy Kantar Italia 1 023 12/02/2021 03/03/2021 52 397 331 13,95% CY R ep. Of Cyprus C YMAR Market Research 505 12/02/2021 05/03/2021 734 695 0,20% LV Latvia Kantar TNS Latvia 1 037 17/02/2021 11/03/2021 1 568 124 0,42% LT Lithuania TNS LT 1 040 17/02/2021 03/03/2021 2 300 257 0,61% LU Luxembourg Kantar Belgium 599 18/02/2021 07/03/2021 503 275 0,13% HU Hungary Kantar Hoffmann 1 054 15/02/2021 03/03/2021 8 351 017 2,22% MT Malta MISC O International 535 12/02/2021 11/03/2021 426 055 0,11% NL Netherlands Kantar Netherlands 1 011 15/02/2021 10/03/2021 14 165 638 3,77% AT Aus tria Das Ö sterreichische Gallup Institut 1 020 12/02/2021 05/03/2021 7 580 083 2,02% PL P oland Kantar P olska 1 036 18/02/2021 11/03/2021 32 139 021 8,56% Marktest – Marketing, O rganização PT P ortugal 1 100 19/02/2021 08/03/2021 8 869 051 2,36% e Formação C entrul P entru S tudierea O piniei si RO R omania 1 033 12/02/2021 08/03/2021 16 372 216 4,36% Pietei (C SOP)
SI S lovenia Mediana DO O 1 038 17/02/2021 22/02/2021 1 767 202 0,47%
SK S lovakia Kantar C zechia 1 138 12/02/2021 05/03/2021 4 592 379 1,22% FI Finland Kantar TNS O y 1 102 17/02/2021 22/02/2021 4 488 064 1,20% SE Sweden Kantar Sifo 1 100 12/02/2021 11/03/2021 8 149 850 2,17%
TOTAL EU27 27 409 12/02/2021 11/03/2021 375 506 702 100%* * It s hould be noted that the total perc entage s hown in this table may exc eed 100% due to rounding ** R ec ruitments in B elgium, C zec hia, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, P ortugal and Slovakia are carried out by Kantar Belgium, Kantar C zechia, Kantar Greece, R onin International, Infas, Kantar P ortugal and Kantar Slovakia. Non-probabilistic sample in Greece was randomly drawn from Kantar’s LifeP oints panel.
UK United K ingdom K antar UK Limited 1 301 23/02/2021 08/03/2021 53 082 345 Turkish C ypriot C Y(tcc) Lipa C onsultancy 508 26/02/2021 12/03/2021 233 547 C ommunity TR Turkey Kantar TNS P iar 1 004 22/02/2021 18/03/2021 62 644 678 MK North Macedonia Kantar TNS BBSS 1 043 12/02/2021 26/02/2021 1 736 495 ME Montenegro T MG Ins ights 534 12/02/2021 07/03/2021 510 415 RS S erbia T MG Ins ights 1 035 12/02/2021 08/03/2021 5 966 740 AL Albania Index Kosovo 1 067 25/02/2021 06/03/2021 2 344 814 Bosnia and BA Kantar TNS BBSS 1 046 18/02/2021 11/03/2021 2 987 440 Herzegovina IS Ic eland G allup Ic eland 513 22/02/2021 11/03/2021 289 125 XK Kosovo*** Index Kosovo 1 067 26/02/2021 17/03/2021 1 357 100 NO Norway Kantar Norway 1 112 23/02/2021 17/03/2021 4 392 175 CH S witz erland Demo SCOPE AG 1 104 19/02/2021 10/03/2021 7 259 209 TOTAL 38 743 12/02/2021 18/03/2021 518 310 785 ***T his designation is without prejudic e to positions on status, and is in line with UNS C R 1244/99 and the IC J O pinion on the K osovo declaration of independence.
TS2 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
N° OF C API N° OF C AW I TOTAL N° Face-to-face and online interviewing COUNTRIES INT E R VIE W S INT E R VIE W S INT E R VIE W S BE B elgium 1 060 1 060 In Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden, face-to- BG B ulgaria 1 032 1 032 face interviewing was feasible but it was not possible to reach the CZ C zec hia 1 100 1 100 DK Denmark 1 010 1 010 target number of face-to-face interviews within the fieldwork DE Germany 1 575 1 575 period due to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions: many potential EE E s tonia 1 054 1 054 respondents are reluctant to open their homes to interviewers, IE Ireland 1 094 1 094 EL Greece 536 522 1 058 even if they respect hygiene rules and physical distancing, such as ES S pain 1 007 1 007 wearing masks and using hydroalcoholic gel. Therefore, to hit the FR France 1 020 1 020 target number of interviews within the fieldwork period, HR C roatia 1 028 1 028 IT Italy 1 023 1 023 additional interviews were conducted online with Computer- CY R ep. Of Cyprus 505 505 Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) technique. LV Latvia 1 037 1 037 LT Lithuania 1 040 1 040 Online interviewing LU Luxembourg 599 599 In Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, HU Hungary 1 054 1 054 MT Malta 344 191 535 Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, the UK, Iceland, Norway NL Netherlands 751 260 1 011 and Switzerland face-to-face interviews were not feasible at all. AT Aus tria 1 020 1 020 Therefore all interviews were conducted online with CAWI PL P oland 1 036 1 036 technique. PT P ortugal 1 100 1 100 RO R omania 1 033 1 033 SI S lovenia 1 038 1 038 Recruitment for online interviews SK S lovakia 775 363 1 138 FI Finland 1 102 1 102 In the EU SE Sweden 216 884 1 100 TOTAL EU27 13 955 13 454 27 409 The online design in each country differed based on what was feasible within the fieldwork period. Where feasible, the online United K ingdom 1 301 1 301 UK sample was based on a probabilistic sample design. Those Turkish C ypriot C Y(tcc) 508 508 C ommunity recruited to the online survey were recruited through a single TR Turkey 1 004 1 004 mobile frame or dual frame Random Digit Dialling (RDD) design. In MK North Macedonia 1 043 1 043 this way the entire phone owning population in each country had a ME Montenegro 534 534 RS S erbia 1 035 1 035 non-zero chance of being sampled. The choice of whether to use a AL Albania 1 067 1 067 single mobile frame or dual frame (mobile and landline) was Bosnia and BA 1 046 1 046 dependent on the countries’ landline infrastructure. Where the Herzegovina IS Ic eland 513 513 landline infrastructure is suitably advanced to support a significant XK Kosovo* 1 067 1 067 minority of residential households with landline phones a dual NO Norway 1 112 1 112 frame design is employed. The mix of mobile and landline sample CH S witz erland 1104 1 104 is designed to maximise the representation of the responding TOTAL 21 259 17 484 38 743 sample. The RDD sample for both the mobile and landline sample C API : C omputer-Assisted Personal interviewing C AW I : C omputer-Assisted W eb interviewing is drawn from the country’s telephone numbering plan. The *T his designation is without prejudic e to positions on status, and is in line landline sample frame is stratified by NUTS3 regions based on with UNS C R 1244/99 and the IC J O pinion on the K osovo dec laration of their prefix and the mobile by operator before a systematic independence. random sample of numbers is generated proportional in size to the total generatable numbers in each stratum. Respondents were Consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on fieldwork recruited using this sample design in Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Face-to-face interviewing Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia. Where feasible, interviews were conducted face-to-face in people's homes or on their door step and in the appropriate national In Finland, Denmark, and Sweden, RDD samples were not used, language. In all countries and territories where face-to-face instead the telephone sample was drawn from the country interviewing was feasible CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal telephone directory. In these three countries the telephone Interviewing) was used. For all interviews conducted face-to-face, directories offer comprehensive coverage of the phone owning hygiene and physical distancing measures have been respected at population, storing both landline and mobile phone numbers for all times in line with government regulations, and whenever each individual. possible, interviews were conducted outside homes, on doorsteps, to remain in open air and maintain social distance. In the Netherlands, a proprietary panel called “Nipobase” was used, drawing a random sample from their panel. This panel uses a mix of probability based sampling to recruit panellists and non- probabilistic approaches to maximise representation where the probability based approach under-represents, such as in the
TS3 Standard Eurobarometer 94 Winter 2020 - 2021
younger age groups. Nipobase uses mix of offline and online Response rates modes. Offline modes are typically RDD samples and online modes are typically recruitment via targeted websites and social media For each country a comparison between the responding sample platforms. and the universe (i.e. the overall population in the country) is carried out. Weights are used to match the responding sample to Outside the EU: the universe on gender by age, region and degree of urbanisation. For European estimates (i.e. EU average), an adjustment is made In the UK, recruitment of respondents was made either via a face- to the individual country weights, weighting them up or down to to-face CAPI mode of data collection based on a clustered reflect their 15+ population as a proportion of the EU 15+ multistage random sample of addresses or via a postal invite to population. an online survey using a completely unclustered random sample of addresses. The response rates are calculated by dividing the total number of complete interviews with the number of all the addresses visited, In Norway and Iceland, stratified random samples were drawn apart from ones that are not eligible but including those where from among probability based samples. Recruitments are done eligibility is unknown. For Standard Eurobarometer 94, the using offline modes of data collection (telephone and postal) response rates for the EU27 countries, calculated by Kantar, are: based on a probability sample design.
In Switzerland samples were randomly drawn from the non- probabilistic sample (“Demoscope”). Demoscope is a pseudo- probabilistic sample, in that the frame for selecting households is BE** 27,8% LU** 27,3% based on a probability sample. Recruitment is done via the BG* 45,3% HU* 60,7% telephone directory – which lists landline numbers only in CZ** 60,3% MT* 80,6% Switzerland, where landline coverage is very high. However the DK** 15,1% MT** 46,5% selection of individuals in the households to join the panel is not random. Demoscope was used as the primary source. DE* 18,4% NL* 53,3% EE** 24,0% NL** 49,4% IE** 24,7% AT* 42,7% Please note that for some countries where the response rates were EL* 31,5% PL* 42,3% not sufficiently large to achieve the target sample size in the EL** 35,8% PT* 67,4% fieldwork period, we had to further supplement the samples drawn ES* 32,8% RO* 58,5% probabilistically (either face-to-face or phone-to-web) with non- FR* 30,2% SI** 53,2% probabilistic panels. This was effectively a ‘last resort’ option when no other probabilistic design was feasible. HR* 54,3% SK* 58,7% IT* 22,5% SK** 47,6% In Greece, the sample was supplemented with a randomly drawn CY* 40,7% FI** 28,1% sample from Kantar’s LifePoints non-probabilistic sample panel; in Lithuania, from Norstat’s panel. The LifePoints panel is Kantar’s LV** 23,3% SE* 57,6% proprietary panel, used exclusively for Kantar clients and the lead LT** 26,1% SE** 43,6% source for Kantar’s online work, generating close to 30 million * CAPI ** CAWI without taking into account completes per year. Members are recruited via online advertising recruitment phase (for EL, only probabilistic across a wide range of web and social media sites. Adverts are sample) placed with websites with very high footfalls to ensure maximised reach. In Switzerland, Dynata was used to supplement Demoscope due to the shortfall in the younger age groups on the Demoscope sample.
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Margins of error
Readers are reminded that survey results are estimations, the accuracy of which, everything being equal, rests upon the sample size and upon the observed percentage. With samples of about 1,000 interviews, the real percentages vary within the following confidence limits:
Statistical Margins due to the sampling process
(at the 95% level of confidence)
various sample sizes are in rows various observed results are in columns
5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 95% 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50%
N=50 6,0 8,3 9,9 11,1 12,0 12,7 13,2 13,6 13,8 13,9 N=50 N=500 1,9 2,6 3,1 3,5 3,8 4,0 4,2 4,3 4,4 4,4 N=500 N=1000 1,4 1,9 2,2 2,5 2,7 2,8 3,0 3,0 3,1 3,1 N=1000 N=1500 1,1 1,5 1,8 2,0 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,5 2,5 N=1500 N=2000 1,0 1,3 1,6 1,8 1,9 2,0 2,1 2,1 2,2 2,2 N=2000 N=3000 0,8 1,1 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6 1,7 1,8 1,8 1,8 N=3000 N=4000 0,7 0,9 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,5 1,5 1,5 N=4000 N=5000 0,6 0,8 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,3 1,4 1,4 1,4 N=5000 N=6000 0,6 0,8 0,9 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,2 1,2 1,3 1,3 N=6000 N=7000 0,5 0,7 0,8 0,9 1,0 1,1 1,1 1,1 1,2 1,2 N=7000 N=7500 0,5 0,7 0,8 0,9 1,0 1,0 1,1 1,1 1,1 1,1 N=7500 N=8000 0,5 0,7 0,8 0,9 0,9 1,0 1,0 1,1 1,1 1,1 N=8000 N=9000 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 0,9 1,0 1,0 1,0 1,0 N=9000 N=10000 0,4 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,8 0,9 0,9 1,0 1,0 1,0 N=10000 N=11000 0,4 0,6 0,7 0,7 0,8 0,9 0,9 0,9 0,9 0,9 N=11000 N=12000 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,8 0,9 0,9 0,9 0,9 N=12000 N=13000 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,7 0,8 0,8 0,8 0,9 0,9 N=13000 N=14000 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,7 0,8 0,8 0,8 0,8 0,8 N=14000 N=15000 0,3 0,5 0,6 0,6 0,7 0,7 0,8 0,8 0,8 0,8 N=15000 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 95% 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50%
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