Increased importance in the European elections due to geopolitical developments – Increased interest of Cypriots according to the Eurobarometer – Priority Immigration and Asylum for Cypriot voters – 84% of Cypriots think the EU has an impact on everyday life
The geopolitical situation further increases the importance of the European elections, according to with the Eurobarometer.
The latest survey of the European Parliament before the June elections records citizens' vigilance and concern about the current geopolitical context
In the main conclusions drawn from the data, it is noted that 80% of respondents in Cyprus (81 % in the EU) believes that turnout is even more important given the geopolitical situation.
55% of Cypriot citizens (60% in the EU) are interestedfor the June 9 election, up 19 percentage points at the same time compared to the May 2019 election.
60% say they are likely to vote, up 10 percentage points the last six months and 16 percentage points compared to 2019.
73% of European citizens report that EU actions have an impact on their daily lives. The percentage is significantly higher among respondents in Cyprus (84%).
85% of respondents in Cyprus (56% in the EU) would like the EP to play a more important role.
The fight against poverty and social exclusion (33%) as well as public health (32%) ) are the main issues that concern voters at the European level.
In Cyprus priority is given to the areas of immigration and asylum (41%), supporting the economy and the creation of new jobs (40%), as well as the fight against poverty and social exclusion in the same proportion as public health (38%).
Today's pre-election publication highlights a positive, uptrend in key election indicators with just a few weeks to go until citizens head to the polls on June 9.
Interest in elections, awareness of when they will be held, and the likelihood of participation are all on the rise since the most recent survey in fall 2023. The increases are even more impressive compared to the spring 2019 survey, i.e. three months before the previous European elections.
Now, 60% of Europeans say they are interested in voting in June – up 3 percentage points compared to autumn 2023 and up 11 compared to February/March 2019. 71% say they are likely to vote, rating the possibility 7 to 10 (on a scale of 1 very unlikely & #8211; 10 very likely), an indicator that shows an increase of three percentage points in the last six months and 10 percentage points compared to 2019. The findings suggest that EU citizens are very aware of the importance of elections in the current geopolitical context, with eight in ten (81%) respondents agree that this makes voting even more important. Large majorities in all member states agree with this statement.
In Cyprus a corresponding vigilance was recorded for the elections: 55% are interested in the process and 60% are likely to vote. 80% of Cypriot citizens seem to recognize the high importance of participating in the upcoming European elections due to the current geopolitical situation.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola >, commenting on the results of the survey, said: “Europeans know that the stakes at the polls are high, but also that the existing geopolitical context makes the vote even more important. I call on our citizens to vote in the upcoming European elections, to strengthen European democracy and shape the future of Europe.”
With the current parliamentary term coming to an end, 81% of EU citizens (85% in Cyprus) have a positive or neutral image of the European Parliament, while only 18% say it is negative. Furthermore, the majority in the EU (56%) would like the EP to play a more important role, while only 28% would like to see the opposite and 10% to keep its role as it is now. In Cyprus, there is a significant difference in this category, with 85% stating that they would like a stronger role for the Parliament.
President Metsola added: “Parliament and the European Union recent years have produced work to an unprecedented degree. We have faced extraordinary and difficult circumstances, but we have become even stronger and unitedthrough them. The Parliament has been and will continue to be the voice and defender of citizens in the EU.”
European citizens would like to see the combat of poverty and social exclusion
strong> (33%) as well as the support of public health (32%) at the focus of the election campaign. Supporting the economyand the creation of new jobs, as well as defense and security of the EU are in third place with the same percentage (31%). The importance citizens attach to the EU's defense and security has increased during the current parliamentary term, mainly due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. It is now reported as the first pre-election priority (either alone or tied) in nine countries, with the highest results in Denmark (56%), Finland (55%) and Lithuania (53%).
In Cyprus, the first priority is immigration and asylum (41%), while supporting the economy and creating new jobs (40%) follow with a relatively small margin, as and public health which is in the same position as the fight against poverty and social exclusion (38%).
Looking to the future, EU citizens put defence and security(37%) as first priorities for strengthening the EU's position on the world stage, followed by energy issues on the one hand and food security and agriculture on the other (both categories with a percentage of 30%). In Cyprus, defense and security (39%) come first, followed by food security and agriculture (32%), education and research (28%) and in fourth place, issues of demography, migration and aging population (27%).
Although four in ten citizens say that the EU's role has become more important in recent years, 35% believe that it has remained stable and 22% that it has weakened. At national level, relative majorities in 15 countries believe that the EU's role in the world has strengthened over the years, with figures reaching 67% in Sweden, 63% in Portugal and 60% in Denmark. At the other end of the spectrum, Slovenian and Czech citizens are more likely to say that the role of the EU has become less important (32% and 30%, respectively).
In Cyprus, 33% consider that the role of the European Union in the world is now more important, while 40% perceive its position as stable in recent years and 24% argue that it has weakened.
Almost three quarters of Europeans (73%, +3 percentage points compared to autumn 2023) claim that EU actions have an impact on their daily lives, including a fifth (20%) who say they have a very high impact. Furthermore, a large majority of Europeans agree that their country, overall, benefits from EU membership (71%). These results are stable compared to autumn 2023 and remain high across the EU. For Cyprus, the percentage of citizens who consider EU actions to have an impact on their daily lives is 84%, while 68% of respondents in Cyprus claims that the country has benefited overall from joining the EU.
