Romania recorded the second largest increase in the voting intention in this year’s European elections compared to 2019, after the Czech Republic, standing at 74%, which is by 19% more than in the latest elections five years ago, according to a Eurobarometer report made public on Wednesday. Nevertheless, Romania is not part of the first third of EU states in terms of number of people who plan to cast their vote in the European elections scheduled for June. Asked whether they would vote in the European elections if the polls were to take place next week, almost three-quarters of Romanians said they would probably vote and only 6% said they probably wouldn’t vote. Almost half of Romanians continue to have a totally positive image of the European Parliament, just like last autumn, although the share of people who have a negative image has increased to 19%.
At the same time, more than half of Romanians would like the European Parliament to play a more important role in the future, a share similar to the EU average, while 37% would like the institution to play a less important role. Moreover, over a half of Romanians say that, for them personally, it is important to vote in the European elections, 40% say that the vote has a medium importance, while 5% say that the election is not that important.
More important for Romanians is the vote in the national elections, about which 63% say it is highly important, one third that it is of medium importance and only 3% that it is of low importance. Romanians also believe that the main themes that should be discussed in the European election campaign are the support for the economy and for the creation of new jobs, public health and also the fight against poverty and social exclusion.
Asked what values the European Parliament should defend, as a priority in the next five years, the Romanians placed first democracy, respect for national identities, culture and traditions in the member states and solidarity between the EU member states and its regions. 45% of Romanians believe that things are heading in the right direction in the EU, well above the European average, while 41% say that things are heading in the wrong direction (the EU average is 49%).
Only 34% of Romanians believe that, in general, things are going in the right direction in the country, while 57% say that things are going in a wrong direction. However, Romanians are more optimistic than the EU average that their living standard will increase in the next five years and less pessimistic about their living standard decreasing during this period. Also, Romanians are more optimistic than the EU average that the country’s economy will be better in a year, but they are at the same level in terms of confidence in the future of the EU. Finally, according to the Eurobarometer, most Romanians believe that their country has benefited from joining the EU, while 30% do not believe that. We remind you that in Romania, the European parliamentary elections will take place on the same day with the local ones, on June 9.