EU citizens’ trust in the EU is on the rise,
\namidst the robust support Brussels has provided to Ukraine and due to its
\nenergy policies, the latest Eurobarometer published on Tuesday shows. Conducted
\nover June-July, the study reveals that Europeans are increasingly concerned
\nwith the economic developments in the EU and at home, most fears targeting
\ninflation and the energy market. The positive perception of European economy
\nhas dropped starting this year,
\nstanding at 40% at present. Over half of Europeans believe the economy is
\nexperiencing difficulties. In turn, Romanians are worried about inflation and
\nthe economic situation. Only a half of them believe the economic situation will
\nimprove over the next 12 months. Europeans are more skeptical, with only 16% of
\nthem holding optimistic prospects. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As regards the consequences of the war in
\nUkraine, Romanians say the price hike and a possible crisis raise most
\nconcerns, in addition to a possible expansion of the war or nuclear warfare.
\nStill, two thirds of Romanian and European respondents are optimistic about the
\nfuture of the EU, which represents an increase compared to a similar survey
\nconducted in January-February this year, ahead of the Russian invasion of
\nUkraine. Furthermore, European citizens have confirmed their firm support for
\nthe EU’s response to the war. As regards the EU’s actions at community level,
\nhumanitarian assistance got the most approval (92% on average at EU level and
\n75% in Romania), followed by the EU taking in Ukrainian refuges (90% at EU
\nlevel and 75% in Romania). In this context, 69% of Romanians endorse the
\neconomic sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia, Russian businesses and
\npeople, which is below of the EU average of 78%. 61% of Romanians are in favor
\nof funding the distribution and delivery of military equipment to Ukraine, against
\nan EU average of 68%. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As regards energy and energy security, the majority of
\nboth EU citizens and Romanians in particular agree the EU should invest in
\nrenewable energy, curb its dependency of Russian gas and that stockpiling
\nnatural gas should be a major priority in order to allow uninterrupted gas
\nsupplies in winter. Both Europeans and Romanians believe increasing energy
\nefficiency won’t make countries any less dependent on non-EU energy producers,
\nand are in favor of purchasing energy from other countries to obtain a better
\nprice. Furthermore, 65% of Romanians believe they have taken appropriate action
\nto curb their energy consumption or intend to do so in the coming future,
\ncompared to an EU average of 78%. (VP)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Europeans are increasingly concerned with the economic situation in Europe, while Romanians are particularly worried about inflation and the economy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":54944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[39123,30666,40653,36572],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-93066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-confidence-in-the-eu","tag-eurobarometer","tag-the-energy-sector","tag-war-in-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n