Public expectations and EU commitment on industrial policy

According to a new Eurobarometer survey of the European Parliament on ‘perceptions and expectations’, industrial policy is not high on the EU public’s agenda in terms of perceived importance, awareness of the policy area, or support for increased EU intervention in the area. The survey results do not show a significant gap between citizens’ expectations and actual EU involvement in this policy area. Less than half of citizens would like the EU to intervene more strongly. Roughly equal numbers of people assess the current level of EU involvement in industrial policy as adequate and as insufficient (36% and 37% respectively).
Of all the policy areas mentioned in the survey, industrial policy is the one in which citizens are least likely to feel strongly about their responses: 21% cannot say whether current EU involvement is excessive, adequate or insufficient, and 17% do not have an opinion on whether the EU should intervene more, less or keep its involvement as it is.