Europe is losing its confidence in the European Union. This is the result of a current survey conducted by the Western European members of WIN, the World Independent Network of Market Research. 52 per cent of respondents from seven European countries stated to lack trust in the EU. However, answers varied greatly depending on the respective country of origin. As the exclusive German member of WIN, Produkt + Markt conducted the survey in Germany.

„Thinking about the EU. Overall, how much confidence do you have in the EU?“ – A total of 7000 people from France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK were asked this question in November and December 2017. While the number of respondents lacking trust in the EU is particularly high in Italy (71 per cent have no confidence in the EU), Ireland (59 per cent) and Spain (54 per cent) still have a comparatively high level of confidence in Europe. In Germany, 45 per cent of respondents still trust in the EU, while 52 per cent stated to have little or no confidence in the European Union anymore.

Despite decreasing levels of confidence and a looming Brexit, there are still 62 per cent of respondents who believe that their country will still be a member of the European Union in five years from now. In Germany, even 75 per cent of respondents believe that Germany will still be a member of the EU, and that the European Union will still exist. The results for this question were quite similar in all participating countries, the UK being the only exception.

It is particularly noticeable that especially young and well-educated people continue to have faith in Europe. 67 per cent of the 16- to 29-year-olds in Germany stated to have “a great deal of confidence” or at least “some confidence” in Europe. 81 per cent of them also believe that Germany will still be a member of the EU in five years from now.   

Please see WIN’s official press release below for additional interesting results and further Details.