Europeans want stronger EU but doubt it can deliver, study finds

A European Council on Foreign Relations study based on 5,800 interviews in six countries found 68% of respondents associate Europe with decline, while 73% support greater unity. The report's author, Pawel Zerka, calls the gap between ambition and belief an 'imagination gap.' The findings come ahead of Ursula von der Leyen's annual state of the union address.

Bottom line — 56% of Europeans believe the EU's future is in danger, according to the ECFR study.

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• Only 12% of respondents see the current moment as a period of 'European awakening and renewal,' the Guardian reports.
• The study identifies four voter groups: Positives (19%), Negatives (39%), the Disconnected (12%), and the Uncertain (31%).
• Almost half of respondents in France, Germany, and Italy fall into the Negatives group, who believe Europe's best days are behind it, per the Guardian.
• Nearly all voters for radical-right parties such as Germany's AfD, France's National Rally, and the Dutch PVV are Negatives, the study found.
• 32% of respondents cited 'Europe's slowness' as a problem; one young Polish respondent said: 'The EU fundamentally discusses a lot, but does nothing.'
• 30% of respondents criticized the EU's failure to stand up to powerful global actors, with recent tariff concessions to Donald Trump cited as an example, according to the Guardian.
• Author Pawel Zerka of ECFR argues that 'leaders tend to preach to the Positives or bow down to the Negatives,' but the Uncertain group is key to preserving faith in the European project.
• Zerka said restoring confidence requires demonstrating that collective action can solve concrete problems like energy security, defence, and the cost of living crisis.

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