Percentage of respondents who would like the EU to intervene more than at present

According to a series of Eurobarometer surveys carried out for the European Parliament on ‘perceptions and expectations’, the support of EU citizens for stronger EU involvement in the protection of external borders decreased from 71 % in 2016 to 69 % in 2018. This is a two percentage point decrease in citizens’ expectations. There is a significant variation in support for increased EU involvement across the Member States. The highest expectations for more EU involvement are registered in Cyprus (92 % in 2018; 86 % in 2016), Portugal (84 % in 2018; 87 % in 2016) and Greece (81 % in 2018; 78 % in 2016). The weakest expectation for more involvement in the protection of external borders is in Sweden (52 % in 2018; 48 % in 2016), Croatia (57 % in 2018; 61 % in 2016) and Latvia (57 % in 2018; 66 % in 2016).