Gap between expectation and current EU involvement

In almost all the policy areas covered by the Eurobarometer survey of the European Parliament, a majority of the EU citizens questioned would like to see increased EU involvement, and only a minority of them believe current EU involvement is sufficient. The reasons for such preferences and evaluations are different for each policy area – sometimes EU involvement could be viewed as having been positive so far and therefore, citizens could want further EU action; or sometimes EU involvement could have fallen below citizens’ expectations and therefore, they would expect the EU to step up its efforts. The reasons behind citizens’ preferences for increased EU involvement, as well as their preferences on the areas in which the EU should focus such further involvement, need more research. However, the data show that, in most policy areas there is a clear gap between citizens’ perception of current EU involvement and their expectations and preferences for future EU involvement.