Europeans believe in the benefits of the economic development of a single EU more than in the successes of their own country. This conclusion was made on the basis of a public opinion poll Eurobarometer. Our interlocutor is the head of the European Bureau of the Gallup Institute Landert de Vogd. “With the exception of a few countries,” he said, “in particular, Denmark and Luxembourg, pessimism prevails with respect to the economic growth prospects of the EU member countries. What are the reasons for this? First of all, the pessimism of citizens is caused by the situation on the labor market.
36 % of respondents believe that their national economy is developing normally. 62 % think she is in a deplorable state. Assessment of the situation on the labor market is even more critical – 78 % are dissatisfied and 21 % find it good. But if we are talking about the economic situation in Europe, then people are more optimistic.
Half of the respondents are sure that the European economy as a whole looks good, but 36 % say the opposite. “The point of view of the citizens of Europe,” said Landert de Vogd, “boils down to the following: the economic position of Europe is better than China and India, but worse than Japan and the United States. This does not quite match the forecasts for the future prospects of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation. ”
56% of Europeans believe that the EU economy will become very strong by 2010, but 64% of these people do not believe that Europe will become a world economic leader, as planned by the “Lisbon strategy”. But anyway, the European Union first of all needs to solve the central problem. “We are talking about employment, the fight against unemployment. And since this problem is becoming more acute for all member countries of the community, it has become the main priority of the social policy of the European Union,” Landert de Vogd concluded.
euronews.net, 02.07.06
This post is also available in:
English 
Русский (Russian)
