Public expectations and EU commitment on economic policy

According to a new Eurobarometer survey of the European Parliament on ‘perceptions and expectations’, just over half of EU citizens would like the EU to intervene more in economic policy compared to what it currently does. Of the EU citizens surveyed, 13% do not have an opinion on this matter, the second highest proportion (after industrial policy). The variation in opinions across Member States is significant. The strongest support for increased EU economic policy involvement is recorded in Cyprus (80%), Spain (77%), Portugal and Italy (68%). The weakest support for increased EU action in economic policy is registered in Denmark (27%), Sweden (32%), Germany and Austria (35%). Some 44% of citizens evaluate the current involvement of EU in economic policy as insufficient, a somewhat low proportion compared to the other areas on which citizens were questioned, while 7% consider the current involvement as excessive. A gap between citizens’ expectations of EU involvement in economic policy as a whole and actual EU involvement in this policy area is seen only in some Member States.