Almost two-thirds of citizens of EU countries are concerned about the security of the European Union, according to a newly released poll conducted on behalf of the European Commission.
Around 47% of EU citizens surveyed said they were “fairly worried” about the security of the bloc over the next five years, while another 17% said they were “very worried.”
According to the results, people in Portugal (77%) have the greatest security concerns. In Germany, 54% of respondents said they were “fairly” or “very” concerned about the security of the EU.
More than 25,000 EU citizens aged 15 and over were surveyed online by the opinion research institute Ipsos between the end of June and the beginning of July for the representative poll.
According to the poll, around 58% of EU citizens still tend to be optimistic about the future of the EU, while about 37% expressed pessimism.
Around 50% of EU citizens see the war in Ukraine as the biggest current challenge for the EU, while 41% of those surveyed currently consider irregular migration to be the greatest challenge.
Another 35% of respondents also cited environmental problems and climate change.
In terms of the issues that the EU should prioritize, respondents most frequently cited the environment and climate change (33%) and irregular migration (also 33%), followed by security and defence (29%) and the war in Ukraine (25%).
Opinions differ among EU citizens regarding the performance of the economy across the EU over the next five years.
Around 50% of respondents expressed confidence about the future of the economy, while 45% said they are more sceptical.
