• 63% support democratic values against 32% siding by authoritarian, reactionary forces.

• 56% of respondents set to support Great Britain’s re-entry to the European Union.

With less than two weeks left until the European Union elections, 10,833 voters take a stand on pressing EU and global issues, as well as running challenges. The survey, conducted by Kapa Research in 10 countries across the 27-member EU between 4 and 24 May 2024, goes beyond domestic dilemmas or voting intentions. It takes a closer look at emerging and established trends within European societies between 2019 and 2024, shaping the bloc’s social agenda, including concerns about European and international issues, leadership expectations, and personal outlooks and opinion about leading global figures.

Main Findings

• Rising cost of living, immigration, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict constitute Europeans’ main concerns, as we head towards the 2024 EU Parliament Election. In addition, EU citizens express wide distress about the corrosive role of fake news, economic inequalities, the Union’s environmental policy, and the use of AI.
• Widespread demand for control over the cost of living and the hyper-concentration of wealth among the few. The recent interplay between several crises (the 2010s financial crisis, COVID-19, war conflicts, energy crisis, and inflation) has established a lingering feeling that “in Europe, the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer”.
• Universal call for peace in Ukraine and an end to the war in Gaza. To this end, as the feeling of danger from wars and terrorism grows stronger, EU-UK relations become directly connected to the issue of security: 56% of the respondents wish for a (re)alignment among Great Britain and the EU. At the same time, and compared to current leaders, Tony Blair enjoys high popularity ratings.
• The triptych Democracy – Human Rights – Rule of Law prevails over Order-Security-Strong Leadership. The contradiction between these two value systems highlights a new division between countries and leaders that embrace democratic ideals and those that lean towards authoritarianism competing, often unfairly, with the Union.

Key Takeaways

Europe’s history, culture, and values are greater than its material wealth. This dichotomy between material and cultural capital has led to two different approaches of the European project: the “technocratic” approach versus a more “political” approach. It turns out that the prevalent technocratic approach increases citizens’ distrust on whether the new leadership will respond to their concerns. The majority, in response, requests strengthening of the European acquis (security, freedom, democracy, growth, social cohesion).