Faith in the European Union is on the rise again throughout Europe, according to a new study by Pew Research.
Pew recently sampled opinions in Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Poland and France and found much more favorable views of the E.U. compared with the three previous years. Now that the economies of most E.U. countries are better, or at least less bad, citizens of the union are feeling more upbeat.
Among all six countries surveyed, favorable views of the E.U. have jumped from 53 percent last year to 61 percent today. Those believing that the E.U.’s economic integration has strengthened the economy have increased from 40 percent in 2014 to 46 percent today. But, only 28 percent think their economy is good, although that’s a 7 percent increase over last year.
Breaking it down by country, the Poles have the most favorable view of the E.U., 72 percent, followed by Italy with 64 percent in agreement. Fast-rising Spain is third with 63 percent. Germany, France and Italy all were above 50 percent agreement.
Economic views differ, though, with Germans believing their economy is good (75 percent), while only 12 percent of Italians think their economy is doing well. Right behind Germany is the U.K., with a majority (52 percent) saying their economy is doing well. Things aren’t going as well economically in Poland (38 percent), Spain (18 percent) and France (14 percent).
Although less than 20 percent of Spaniards believe their economy is doing well, 42 percent think the economy will improve in the next year, the highest mark of all six countries studied. Optimism was nearly as high in the U.K., with 38 percent believing the economy is on the mend. Germany, France and Italy all fell between 20 and 30 percent on the economic sentiment scale. Least optimistic was Poland, with only 16 percent optimistic about future economic gains.
The very deep economic downturn in the euro zone for the past seven years has increased E.U. skepticism in a number of member countries, especially those countries that have suffered the most economically. That skepticism has directly led to the rise of political parties on both the left and the right who believe their country would be better off without the European Union.
Pew asked if these E.U.-skeptic parties are good for their countries. Seven-out-of-10 Spaniards think that these parties are a good thing for their country. The U.K., a hotbed of E.U. secession, was second with nearly two-thirds agreeing that E.U. skepticism is a good thing. On the other end of the scale, only 36 percent of the Poles and the French think these E.U.-skeptic parties are a good thing.
