Security and defence policy_perceptions difference_GW

Back in 2016, over half of respondents evaluated the EU action in security and defence as insufficient (51 %) and only 35 % considered it adequate. While in 2018, the proportions have changed, with 41 % evaluating EU action as adequate and 43 % as insufficient, the observation remains that more Europeans consider action in this area insufficient rather than adequate. There are very significant differences in the evaluation of EU action on security and defence policy as adequate amongst Member States (see Figure 3). They vary between as high as 57 % in Denmark and 52 % in Latvia, to as low as 19 % in Cyprus and 27 % in Greece and France. The increase in the share of Europeans who evaluate EU action as adequate is six percentage points. This positive trend is almost universal across the entire EU, with the exception of Germany, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. The Member States with the most significantly improved evaluation are Bulgaria (19 percentage points) and Romania and Poland (18 percentage points each). The Member States with the least improved evaluation of EU action as adequate are Cyprus (minus 5 percentage points), the UK and Germany (minus 3 percentage points each).